Robots: Superior to Mankind?
Nowadays, there is a public controversy concerning the issue ofwhether mankind will always be superior to machines. Somepeople argue that since machines are only tools of humankind,they will always be inferior to us, while others hold thatmachines, especially computers with artificial intelligence, willultimately surpass us in every aspect of intellectual life. In my opinion, we must carefully considerwhat we mean by the word "superior" before we can answer the question.
If "superior" is meant to mean the knowledge, speed, and accuracy in doing certain technical jobs,the machines of our day will surpass human beings in most areas, given their efficiency andendurance. For instance, a specially designed computer program can solve a complex equation inmoments that would take a person working with pencil and paper several days to solve. What'smore, computers can keep on working for days even months without any need for rest and nodiminishment in accuracy, while people require rest and recreation. Computers can store andinstantly retrieve vast amounts of information in its memory while people may often forget themost important thing. Some machines, such as a hoist, are capable of accomplishing feats ofstrength that no human individual could ever dream of. In this sense, machines are like miraclesthat we have created to help us in our adaptation and reconstruction of the material world.
However, if the word "superior" is defined on the basis of creative thinking and emotionalsensitivity, machines are inferior to mankind, at least at the present time. For example, werecognize familiar faces within a second or less, but a computer must follow a series of complexprocedures in order to recognize even a face that has been presented to it thousands of times.Besides, while computers have been developed that are capable of producing works of art, such aspictures and musical compositions, such computer-generated works are devoid of any theircreator's feelings since computers are non-sensate. Since machines, especially computers, aredeveloping at a tremendous rate today, we can't rule out the possibility that in the future themachines can surpass humans in almost every field. But up to now, it is still incomparable to thepower of human thinking in many aspects and is still under human control. Human beings shouldmake good use of machines and remember that their development is meant to benefit mankind.
For the reasons mentioned above, I hold that humans and machines are not comparable unless wedefine our specific usage of the word "superior". Machines have the advantage in some areas whilethe human being holds the edge in the realm of creative thinking. We should utilize machines tosupport and enhance our thinking about the social life and avoid their improper use andapplication.