See that robot in the lower left picture with guy? USA.gov is promoting this robot, called HERB (Home Exploring Robotic Butler), as a useful tool for the elderly and/or disabled. Why arent FAMILIES taking care of their elderly or disabled family members? I know a lot of families DO, but many prefer to stick them in old folks homes or nursing homes. Many only visit them on holidays or other special days, or NOT AT ALL! Granted, there ARE people who need specialized care for their safety or the safety of others, such as Alzheimers patients. Dementia patients can become violent, accidentally start fires, or get lost. But for those who dont pose a danger, they deserve a better quality of life; they will do much better living with people they love and who love them! I do know from personal experience the toll that caregiving can take on the caregiver, especially if you dont have a good support system, such as some of your church members, or other family members, or mental health professionals, or paid in-home helpers. Ideally, a caregiver should have all of that! But we do not live in a perfect world. People tend to be selfish and/or lazy, although many would say they dont have time or space or enough money to care for their aged or disabled family members. But arent they MORALLY obligated? Youd think theyd do it out of LOVE! But about those robots: can or will robots evolve into something that can cause more harm than good? Even IF they dont evolve into terminators or Cylons, think of the jobs they will take over from human beings! We already have computers doing thousands of jobs people use to get paid doing! You might say that its a GOOD thing to have robots do jobs that are too dangerous for human beings, and I am inclined to agree. BUT, if they ever become self-aware, like Data on Star Trek TNG, then you must address the issue of creating a race of disposable beings - which amounts to slavery. This issue was the basis for the STTNG episode, The Measure of A Man. I dont know how far along artificial intelligence is, but be careful what you wish for, people!
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 10:23:03 +0000
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