Woodley Jean

Cindy Casper
English 101

So it has come down to this, one question that has been talked and has gotten over plenty
response to it. Would you consider a robot working future jobs like we do? The question itself
seems pretty simple, and yet there have been many viewpoints that the decision is overall
uncertain. Many do believe it is the right choice whereas others wont stand for the fact. So
where does that put us? For me, the answer popped up so quickly I was very impressed with the
decision. That answer would be no. I wont stand for it nor will I accept it.
Reminding myself that robots and workplaces dont really mix together, there are others
who have a different viewpoint which would say otherwise. An executive director of the
Machine Intelligence Research Institute, at Berkeley, California named Luke Muehlhauser
believes that the robot intelligence would provide a more productive environment. He has
conducted many tests in terms of thinking processes, sequential serial depth, and many others.
He concludes that this action will be justified as a good choice for having robots working in jobs.
Productivity will go up, complaints will go down, and people overall would be happy. But he is
missing one thing, and thats will people be happy with this decision. I know mainly this is an
opinion based writing but when I consider the facts on who will be replaced and how much
different the workplace and style of the location will change; I cant help but think that many will
be out of a job. Though he does make a valid point that robots do have the capability of

surpassing the human intelligence, but at what cost? If theres more robots working in jobs, the
higher possibility and likelihood that more and more humans will be out of jobs only because the
robots will be working the jobs better than others. Considering numbers and statistics after a
robot takes over a job and how well the business goes, the manager would more than likely add
more. Robots work for no pay, or so it seems since its pretty much a hunk of metal thats
following orders.
The next point that comes to mind would be how well would the robot adapt to the
workplace.
http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2016/12/08/new-starbucks-ceo-well-never-haverobots.cnnmoney/index.html
This short video is a brief interview with the next CEO of Starbucks, Kevin Johnson, and he
briefly states that the style of their work place would change dramatically. Really quick,
Starbucks, which is one of the common places to go hang out, buy coffee and muffins, and my
personal favorite, the Vanilla Frappuccino. It has built sturdy ground for its success in many
states in the U.S. Their baristas are interacting with millions of different customers which gives
Starbucks its well renown name of having the best Espresso drinks and Coffee. The new CEO
states it wont be the same barista having a robot working there. Each encounter is different and
unique. There is always that glimpse of seeing a different face with a different hand that reaches
out and grabs that fascinating coffee or a wonderful espresso drink. That you cant and wont
find with a static robot demanding service. These traits only are within humans hence why he
says he can't imagine a Starbucks without a barista and that they are in the "business of human
connection." I shop at Starbucks a lot and I would totally agree with his statement 100%. The
workplace was built and formed by the wonderful people that bring simple smiles to customers

faces. That alone builds report and brings the customer back to buy another cup in the future.
Now sure the robot would fulfill customers requests a lot faster, but the happy experience
wont be the same since there wont be that genuine conversation about sports or activities and
so on. I used to work at a family restaurant growing up. I worked as a waiter and the one thing I
learned from that job was, the experience I learned there took me to all of my other jobs I work
now. The customer service and satisfaction I gave to every person who walked in the door and
then left with a huge smile on their face can only be done with character. From when I asked
what they will be having today and throwing in a few jokes just to hear them laugh, to then
serving the food properly and then getting a very nice tip for my service. All of that is just
examples of services which can only be done with character. You can consider having a robot
doing the same thing, but its not the same only because when you can physically see the smile it
makes it more reassuring that the customer is very happy.
Many have same views on this matter considering the possibility of robots taking over the
world. Wallach Wendell and Colin Allen have this same mind set as they wrote an article on the
possible threat that robots pose. Both men are engineers. Wallach is a consultant with Yale
University's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics and Allen is professor of history and the
philosophy of science at Indiana University. From their studies and their claims, both men
consider that the robot technology may be too advanced when robots begin to surpass human
intelligence levels. This in term may cause a natural reaction when robots will then think for
themselves and wonder why there are in this position and then rebel and potential world

dominance.

This image would be a reference to what Allen and Wallach would be referring to. I find this
picture funny because the site claims that this would be the development of killer robots which
could be sent into battle. What I see in this picture reminds me of the Terminator movies which
basically shows that this image is robots taking over the world.

I wont say that robots working wouldnt be all too bad. There is a lot of great
possibilities for robots working in general. For instance, when you enter a job which is fast paced
and needs constant attention if there is a lot to be done like fast food restaurants, it would be
better to have a robot to work there to speed up productivity and less likelihood of angry
customers in the process. Most robots are capable of working faster and have a better adaptation
to learning new things quicker which the human brain will do a little bit slower than robots. But
its because of that reason that robots can gain knowledge faster which poses the threat. The
current workers would be out of a job because a robot would replace them easily because of their
quick tactics and hard work. Put yourself in this position, how would you react right now if your
manager came up and told you that I am replacing you with a robot. YOURE FIRED! It just
wouldnt sit right wouldnt it huh? Thats how I feel about this matter and I wont stand against
it.

Works Cited
Muehlhauser, Luke. "Artificial Intelligence Will Exceed Human Intelligence." Facing the
Intelligence Explosion. 2013. Rpt. in Robotic Technology. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Farmington
Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Web. 7 Oct. 2016.
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?
disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&currPage=&scanId=&query=&pro
dId=OVIC&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&displayquery=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE
%7CEJ3010899218&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&sou
rce=Bookmark&u=24011&jsid=ad61dc9bc1056c300450105647c37aa6

CNN. Draznin, Harley & Trafecante, Kate. CNN Money. Web. 12 Dec, 2016

<http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2016/12/08/new-starbucks-ceo-well-never-haverobots.cnnmoney/index.html>

About Us. Starbucks. Web. 12 Dec 2016

< https://www.starbucks.com/about-us>

Autonomous Killer Robots. Whats On Dalian. Web. 21 Nov 2011. 12 December 2016
< http://www.whatsondalian.com/tech446.html>