ROBOT REVOLUTION 

By Nayaenesh Jeyabalan

After many years of evolution we have reached a point in our lives that our own creations are able to outsmart us. Already jobs are being taken over by robots. They are able to do everything that we can do but even better. Not only that but nearly every human on planet earth uses a variation of a robot - whether that be a phone, laptop, a GPS or even children’s toys!

Not only that, but robots are becoming more human-like. Take Erica, the Japanese robot. At a quick glance she can easily be mistaken for a human. Yet many believe that robots won’t look fully human, as they’ll always have slightly jerky and mechanical movements and will still look fake. After all, no matter how much we advance can we really create life?

The whole idea of robots is rooted as far back as Greek philosophers or more recently, Leonardo da Vinci, who drew some ideas of what he wanted his robot to look like. A model was even made recently based on his drawing. However, the first robot built to perform a task was Unimate.

However, robots have become a great aid to humankind. Some robots are becoming helpers for the old and the sick. They give reminders to the sick and make sure they all have a special medicine ready for any occasion-this means if a patient has a symptom or is looking weak, the robot can inform the emergency services. They also can help to make human life much easier with inventions that we take for granted such as a Satnav. They are also helping humans cleanse the blemishes that we created on planet earth. But do we need them?

Although they are taking over they can’t be dangerous, can they? This question has been asked by numerous people. When robots are made poorly it can have horrible consequences especially for young children’s toys. To list a few: Cabbage patch chew dolls and Easy Bake ovens. Many more children’s toys have had to be recalled. Also, the use of a robot for sinister motives can be catastrophic - from cyber-bullying to cyber- or even real life attacks.

I personally believe that although robots can shape our future they might be destroying our past. Yes they make life easier but do they make it too easy, and are we getting further away from society in embracing robots?