Should we speak nicely to our devices?

"Hey Google! Shut up!"

Christmas Day and I found myself cringing as I overheard a pre-teen speak to their new smart home device like this. It had been asked to play christmas music but the pre-teen was unhappy with what was chosen.

This got me thinking - why was I cringing? It's a device... not a person... surely they don't have feelings. Do they?

Now, from the get go, I truly believe we should always speak nicely to anything (machines, dogs, people, potatoes...) as it's just good habit, but that's not what this article is about... we are going to delve into robot ethics #strapin

Oh the smart devices are listening - noone is denying they are listening and collecting information. What happens to that information both now and into the future is the issue!

And yes, yes, I'm an edtech nerd and can see the amazing positive possibilities with smart home devices for so many situations, from aged people living alone to those with mobility issues or home security concerns. I get it!

But... there have been some massive smart home device fails, like the man in Georgia who was locked out of his home by his smart doorbell last September because he was wearing a Batman t-shirt. The doorbell did not recognise the homeowner, instead focusing on the dark knight thus refused him entry.

And what about the couple a few years ago who had a late night private conversation about someone at the husband's work which the smart home device then sent a copy of the conversation to someone at his work!

Oh and did you hear that in San Francisco on June 18th, 2018, a man's home device activated itself and said "everytime I close my eyes all I see is people dying" without any prompting? This same device has also been widely reported to randomly burst out in "frightening and unprompted laughter".

But... "I'm sure it's only a glitch" #robocop

But back to the ethics of how we talk to our devices. There is immense discussion on right now around the ethics and even rights of robots in the workplace. I'm not joking. This is a serious and much debated issue. In 2016, the World Economic Forum released the Top 9 ethical issues for artificial intelligence which is well worth a read.

The European Commission's High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence has just released their Draft Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI where it is comforting to see they have recommended "AI systems should not harm human beings"! There have been numerous "critical concerns" raised by experts in the field leading to reports and discussions of this nature and many countries are currently debating whether to grant "personhood" status to robots.

And am I the only one that also finds it hard to watch the Boston Dynamics videos where the researchers push the robots over or kick Spot the dog? Is this OK?? No really, I'm asking! NOTE: If you want a real giggle, check out the swearing atlas robot version of this video - language warning but oh so funny. As he leaves the building the robot calls out "See you later Kevin! I hope a robot doesn't burn your *&$@ house down!" NB. it's all hilarious until a robot does actually burn someone's house down!

One of the opinion pieces I read while writing this article hypothesises that WHEN the robots "wake up" the guy from Boston Dynamics pushing them all over with a hockey stick will be the first to go! Again... emitting a tiny, nervous lol.

"The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race".

Do you know who said that? Stephen Hawking. I'll just let that sink in for a second. Oh and I just discovered a new term during my research (dang it) - the singularity - the point at which artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence.

Awesome. Just frickin' awesome.

I blame my own mortal terror of home devices on growing up watching 2001 A Space Odyssey, Robocop, and Terminator 2. But it is hard not to see some of these early sci-fi predictions becoming reality...

Westworld, Bladerunner and the movie AI cut right to the core of this article, that the line between robot and human can be blurry and we must rethink our relationship to such beings. The more we shape them and want them to act like humans, the more we need to question how we treat them.

Which raises the question, why DO we make many robots human-like? Are we trying to convince ourselves that they are human-like? And if so, then maybe we do have an obligation to treat them nicely?

I think I might just speak nicely to my smart devices, just in case.... ;)

ENDNOTE

Oh the irony, pictures in this article all from Pixabay and I had to tick to prove I was not a robot to download them. Is that fair? To me or the robots?! Again, genuinely asking!!

Sleep tight.... and be nice to your home assistant. Real or robot!!

"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that"

SOME BEDTIME READING (References)

• https://www.euractiv.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/AIHLEGDraftAIEthicsGuidelinespdf.pdf
• https://theconversation.com/why-watching-westworlds-robots-should-make-us-question-ourselves-66434
• https://theconversation.com/is-stephen-hawking-right-could-ai-lead-to-the-end-of-humankind-34967
• https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/27/now-is-the-time-to-figure-out-the-ethical-rights-of-robots-in-the-workplace-.html
• https://diginomica.com/2019/01/04/robot-rights-a-legal-necessity-or-ethical-absurdity/
• https://www.independent.ie/world-news/and-finally/this-man-was-locked-out-of-home-when-his-smart-doorbell-thought-he-was-batman-37329890.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/23/technology/smart-home-devices-domestic-abuse.html
• https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/alexa-people-dying-statement/
• https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2019/01/02/electronic-spy-christmas-gift-smart-house-amazon-column/2465141002/
• https://www.9news.com.au/2019/01/02/17/47/smart-home-devices-google-home-alexa-spy-eavesdrop-privacy-fears
• https://www.businessinsider.com/predictions-for-after-singularity-2015-11?IR=T
• https://www.teachwithmovies.org/snippets/sn-sci-robot-ethics-robot-and-frank.html
• https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30922802