Blog #5: The Promise and Peril of Robots in Film, TV and Real Life: Friends or Foes?

In science fiction movies and television shows, the role of robots has been depicted in both a positive and negative way. As a result, the word “robot” has become synonym for a machine made to resemble a human being, and one, which is able to simulate human functions in a mechanical and automatic manner. Nevertheless, Hollywood’s portrayal of robots is often misleading and erroneous in the sense that they are often portrayed as a threat to humanity, when in reality as Ray Kurzweil mentioned in his book The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, this innovative technology may not be a peril but rather a promise that humans can benefit from.

In the YouTube clips about the company Bionic Touch, it can be noted how the use of robotics is put into practice for the replacement of arms and other enhancements for the human body. Furthermore, in this way robots are not humanity’s adversaries as it is portrayed in movies like I, Robot and the show Battle Star Galactica. Instead, these “bionic” limbs have proved to be an advantage, as they have facilitated these handicapped people perform every day functions, which otherwise would be strenuous, difficult, and in some circumstances impossible for these people to carry out.

Furthermore, in this case robots are our friends, which is the reality of our world rather than a fiction story fabricated by Hollywood. As one can see, the field of medicine has been able to benefit from robots, as I am sure many other fields do so as well. I think as long as humans put androids and machines into good use in the end the results will be rewarding. There is no need to feel threatened by technology, because ultimately it is all around us everywhere we go, thus we should keep an open mind and learn how to adapt to a world where the technology is constantly evolving and growing. Robotics is the inevitable future of the world, while being fully aware; we are experiencing a constant revolution of technology in the present, except in one way or another we have become desensitized to it.