Runaround Rundown
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Logan Brooks UNCC-ENG-2116-021 Predicament/contingency plans/robot labor in Chapter 2 July 27, 2017 Runaround Rundown U.S. Robot and Mechanical Men, Inc. is a company ahead of its time, a booming industrial powerhouse. Although, that hasn't always been the case. The first mining expedition to the planet Mercury was a spectacular failure. The second, although successful, also came close to failing. It all began in 2015, 33 years after the founding of the company. Two young engineers were tasked with successfully establishing a stable base of operations on Mercury. They were kept alive in Mercury's harsh environment by “photo-cell banks,” which had started to deteriorate. To fix the photo-cell banks, a kilogram of selenium and a few hours time was required. The engineers casually sent SPD-13, “Speedy,” a highly advanced robot for his time, after the selenium. After a while, they noticed Speedy had not returned and seemed to be acting erratically. They figured it had to do with the three Laws of Robotics: 1. A robot may not injure a human being , or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders given it by humans beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws. Speedy's Third Law potential was strengthened due to his expensive nature. He initially went to get the selenium, due to the engineers casual order (Second Law). Once he got close enough to the pool, his Third law potential made him turn back. It turned out that Speedy had initially headed toward the selenium pools, but detected danger and headed back; then once again headed toward the pools. Consequently, it made him run in circles around the pool seemingly “drunk.” This cycle was continuous, the Second and Third Laws were at potential equilibrium. Hence, a runaround. To clarify, Speedy would follow the engineer's orders up until mortal danger was detected. The two Laws were at equilibrium, or in balance with each other. He was acting crazy and running in circles because he could not figure out which law to follow. If the engineers had stressed the importance of the selenium (Law 1), Speedy may have had no problem with his mission. Eventually it all was sorted out, and the mission a success. The previous predicament might have been avoided if proper planning and safety procedures were implemented. Future planetary expeditions need to have contingency plans and backup plans for their contingency plans. The second Mercury expedition was apparently ill equipped in dealing with unexpected problems. Although the second mission was only to report on the advisability of reopening the “Sunside Mining Station,” there were only two engineers and one advanced robot on the entire mission. In addition, their entire existence relied on a finite amount photo-cell banks! Moreover, they arrived ten years after the previous failed expedition, and used much of its antiquated equipment, such as the radio room. U.S. Robot and Mechanical Men Inc. knew that the previous radio equipment was hardly sufficient for use on Mercury (two mile range). U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men Inc. (U.S.R.) should have sent their engineers to Mercury with adequate communication abilities. They had “ultrawave” radio equipment, but it was not set up. Future expeditions should have an “expeditionary party” come first and set up new infrastructure such as communications, housing, safety, and survey equipment. If the engineers had an ultrawave set up, Speedy likely could have been coerced much sooner into submission. U.S.R. should have also sent the Mercury team with additional and better equipment. One advanced robot for an entire mission almost fifty-million miles from Earth is not a recipe for success. Also, relying your life on some apparently antiquated photo-cell banks is also a recipe for disaster. U.S.R needs to provide back-up equipment such as excessive photo-cell banks, life support systems, 2 and materials for fixing them on future planetary expeditions. They also need to have the capability to easily depart the planet if an emergency arises, such as an auto-pilot space shuttle. Additionally, U.S.R. needs the capacity to send functioning robots to teams in times of crisis (or just in general would be nice), a proposal that is outlawed due to fears of operational robots wandering off on Earth. That is a win-win situation. If the additional equipment is not needed at the moment; it eventually will be needed. In addition, if something goes awry (as planetary expeditions often do) the engineers will have the necessary equipment for repairs. From a psychological standpoint, the engineers will have peace of mind that they will not be burnt to a crisp because of a system malfunction; a mindset that is advantageous when working on stressful and important missions. Furthermore, it looks favorable from a publicity standpoint. If (I assume) a highly publicized mission to Mercury fails (possibly with human fatalities), and U.S.R. did not do everything remotely possible to ensure their success; it is a public relations nightmare. If U.S.R. takes every possible step to ensure mission success, and the mission still fails; it is a public relations problem, but not a nightmare. To conclude the back-up plans for future planetary expeditions, U.S.R. must imagine the unimaginable. What if a meteor hits the main housing unit? What if one or both of the engineers die? What if there are extraterrestrials on the planet? These are extravagant examples, but it is important to take into account what could possibly happen that U.S.R. does not foresee. For example, the United States knew the Japaneses Empire had a massive fleet of A6M Zero aircraft. The U.S. had placed restrictions on Japanese business dealings and froze Japanese assets. If someone had just imagined that the Japanese Empire would retaliate, Pearl Harbor might have been prevented or its effects lessened. U.S.R needs to seriously consider these, and additional contingency plans for future exploration. As mentioned above, U.S. Robot and Mechanical Men Inc. cannot assemble functioning robots on earth due to strict laws against it. These laws were implemented due to pressure from labor unions and some skeptical religious organizations. Labor aside, these laws hinder progress on space exploration and alike, due to the machines having to be assembled off Earth. There are serious 3 implications when discussing the morality and ethics of robot labor on Earth. Robots should be allowed to be used on Earth as their owners see fit (within reason). Companies should be allowed to replace their entire workforce with robots if they want to. Companies exist for the sole purpose of profit. If they decide that having an entire robot workforce will generate higher profit/lower losses then they should have every right to do so. Now, neither the Unions nor the human workers will be happy. This is a transition. It is painful at times but happens often. During the Great War, railroads were on the decline but still very profitable. Their inevitable decline was due in part to modern automobile manufacturing and air travel services. The United States Government could have stymied or even outlawed one or both of those services. They did not. I can't imagine anyone today that would look back and say, “we should have banned those damned cars and planes!” The transition from rail to air travel cost many people their jobs, but it opened up vast opportunities, one that eventually led to a mining station on Mercury. From another perspective, natural economic selection will decide if robot labor is a good fit for Earth. If a National company refuses to serve people with a certain color hair, I believe that is their right. Just as it should be their right to use robots as labor. Now inevitably, people will boycott that particular business and it will go under in no time. The same principle applies to robot labor. If a company uses robots; that is all well and good for them. But who truly decides if robots will stay is the consumers of the businesses who employ them. In conclusion, robophobia is simply irrational fear of the unknown and misunderstood. Today, we cannot even fathom that President Wilson would have outlawed automobiles and aircraft, but what if he had? The world would be a much different place. Inevitably, those technologies would surface elsewhere and might have even weakened United States global power. The only people who could reasonably argue that a ban on automobile and aircraft technology would be positive are the Vanderbilts. 4.