Can I own a South Korean robot or am I it’s guardian? From BBCNews:
An ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa, is being drawn up by South Korea.
The Robot Ethics Charter will cover standards for users and manufacturers and will be released later in 2007.
It is being put together by a five member team of experts that includes futurists and a science fiction writer.
The South Korean government has identified robotics as a key economic driver and is pumping millions of dollars into research.
If you watch technology, you should know that SK is adept at implementing new technology, including real high speed internet connectivity, and robots are part of the natural progression.
A recent government report forecast that robots would routinely carry out surgery by 2018.
The Ministry of Information and Communication has also predicted that every South Korean household will have a robot by between 2015 and 2020.
Will PETR be the new PETA?
(Thanks Gyre.org)
Ray Kurzweil and Hans Moravec have had some interesting future projections about human-robot relations.I wrote on a comment on a Zenpundit thread a while ago that Kurzweil and Fred Charles Ikle are perfect opposites–Kurzweil the optimistic futurist and Ikle the gloom-and-doomer–with John Robb as the missing link between the two.