philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

AI is making robots smarter. They’ll need boundaries.

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Where AI meets the physical world — and creates the potential for conflicts — is in manufacturing and logistics. Robots are already roaming factory, and warehouse floors and AI will make them smarter and more agile.

As is usually the case with new technology, the military is prodding innovation. This marriage of AI and robots will require special rules to keep them constrained by humans, especially as these mobile machines move beyond the confines of a factory and become more prevalent in the service economy.

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It may be too late for that debate. Fully autonomous aerial drones are already killing people in Ukraine. The effort by a small group of activists and diplomats failed in an attempt to ban killer robots because the machines are too useful, said Peter Singer, a senior fellow at New America in an April 14 article. ...

Who’s in charge? Should there be a kill switch? Can just anyone pull it? These questions should be addressed now because robots are dangerous if not handled properly. A Bell employee was killed by a robot in 2022 while lubricating the rollers on a conveyor belt that formed part of an automated palletizer. The motion of the can of WD-40 over the conveyor triggered the system’s camera and a robotic arm was activated, crushing the 54-year-old worker, according to a report from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. ...

See the full story here: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2024/07/23/world/ai-smarter-robots/