#3: Robots Rising: The ONE Reason They'll Rule the World

Here’s a thought that’s somehow gotten controversial:

Robots are going to take over the world eventually.

Statements like this cause a lot of discussion. And I bet it’s not sitting well with you either. The fact that this statement has been increasingly controversial as time progresses, is a paradox in itself.

The paradox: As the technology gets more advanced over time, the human rejection of the world domination hypothesis becomes stronger.

So, two important questions arise:

1. Are robots on the way to take over the world?
2. Why will robots succeed in taking over the world?

So let’s quickly tackle the first question and then, I will tell you my take on why I think robots will succeed.

Are robots on the way to take over the world?

I thinks it’s not hard to grasp that the technology involved in building truly smart robots are evolving very fast.

First, physical robots (the hardware of smart machines) are very advanced already. Just take the current state of Tesla Bot or Atlas by Boston Dynamics in the video below.

Tesla Bot vs Atlas Robot boston dynamics

I know, they may still look a bit shaky at times. But their learning rate is amazing. Also, if one robot learns something new, all other robots of its kind acquire the new knowledge instantly via an update. Take the robot doing a somersault in the video. Can you do one? Can you nail it every time? Yep, me neither.

Second, artificial intelligence (the software of smart machines) has recently done a huge leap with the broad availability of generative AI, large language models (LLM) and the chatbots powered by them. It is even discussed at the moment, if GPT-4 has reached consciousness (watch video below for a very thorough overview). In short, GPT-4 has been taking the tests used to assess human capabilities in consciousness and self-awareness. And…it reached the level of a 7-year-old child. Would you deny a 7-year-old its consciousness? Yep…the answer scares me, too.

Theory of Mind Breakthrough: AI Consciousness & Disagreements at OpenAI [GPT 4 Tested]

Third, thanks to technology like Neuralink’s brain interface the barrier between humans and machines becomes blurrier once more. And guess what, Neuralink is currently starting human trials for its brain interfaces.

Fourth, quantum computing, if it can be further developed, will provide robots with an almost infinite amount of computing power. While ist still unclear how much faster technology would be able to calculate, it’s pretty clear that they will outperform any human by a landslide.

These four developments clearly show that the technologies needed for building our robot overlords are very advanced already.

Now to the second question.

Why will robots succeed in taking over the world?

I think, the answer to this question is actually very simple (as I promised). It’s “yes”. And the single reason why they will succeed is even simpler:

Robots will succeed in taking over the world, simply because no-one will stop them.

And I have solid arguments to back this up. You can check them out here: https://humanlyanalytic.beehiiv.com/p/robots-rising-one-reason-theyll-rule-world

My name is Daniel. I work full-time in the HR Tech team of a global industrial automation and technology company. Besides, I share my thoughts on AI and data in HR. It’s based on facts and experience…almost never on hype. Okay…sometimes a little hype…

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