“THEY can replace us IN THE BEDROOM”.

This pertains to robots as alternative sex partners in the near future. One researcher named Stowe Boyd of Giga OM Research claims that “Soon we’ll all be having sex with robots.” A recent poll found that one in five people in the United Kingdom would have sex with a robot if they got the chance.

“THEY can replace us AT WORK”.

This is no longer a conjecture as a story posted in Robotic Trends online reports a recent survey conducted by Harvard Business School of Alumni found that: “Forty-six(46) percent would rather have robots perform their company's labor than hire people to do the same work.”

The above poses a significant threat against humans. According to the Huffington Post, “Aside from the depressing news that firms prefer robots over people, the survey raises fears that society's so-called job creators are not creating jobs.”

It can be argued that since robots are machines, it is by far unquestionable that they can indeed trounce the skills, talents and capacities of human beings.

Among other advantages of robots include the initial heavy cost of producing them becomes cheaper amortized over time; specific and defined abilities can be programmed; and they have better precision at preforming tasks than humans (The field of Medicine, for example, already used robots in conducting surgeries); and they don’t have to eat, get tired or ask for a raise. Robots are also stronger and faster than people.They can work in extremely harsh environments and can be used in warfare and some dangerous and unwanted work.

The above is alarming if the functions of human beings are totally replaced by the robotic technology or can be harmful to humanity. In 2012, a report from BBC news mentioned that scientists from the Centre Study of Existential Risk (CSER) said that it would be “dangerous” to dismiss concerns of a potential robot uprising.

A story published in New York Times last June 2014 entitled “As Robotics Advances, Worries of Killer Robots Rise” even talked about the considerable number of robot accidents happeningin the workplace.

Moreover, as John Mark off and Claire Cain Miller, the author of the article writes:

“Google’s newest driverless car, for instance, is completely automated, without a steering wheel or a brake pedal.Along with the new, free-roaming robots come new safety concerns. People worry about what happens if a robot spins out of control, or the first time a driverless car kills someone.”

We humans have deep fascinations about the innovationsbrought about by the advancement of technology. We become amazed by the exceptional improvements it has brought upon our lives. Information is acquired much easier; medicine and treatment become modernized; transportation has become more convenient and movies are now much more entertaining. Life’s conveniences seem to be one-click away.

In effect however, the need or use of modern technology has become inevitable. One intriguing question - will robots overpower humans?

Let me quote Selmer Bringsjord, professor of cognitive science, computer science and logic and philosophy at RPI in Troy, N.Y.

Working hand-in-hand with robots for the past 17 years wanting to code morality into a machine, he said:

"The more powerful the robot is, the higher the stakes are. If robots in the future have autonomy..., that's a recipe for disaster.”

True or not, robots and more advanced robotic technology will come to pass.

One of my favorite movies at the turn of the century was the Chris Columbus directed movie “Bicentennial Man” (1999), starring the late Robin Williams and partly written by the late Isaac Asimov, a science fiction writer and a Boston University Professor. The “android” named Andrew developed emotions and creative thoughts and lived life over two centuries.

Towards the end of 200 hundred years, the Android, who has for all intents and purposes “became human” asked the ruling “World Government” to be granted permission to end his life together with a loved one.

This is still fiction but perhaps it is inevitable too.

I will no longer be here to witness this but perhaps my progeny will. I hope by that time they will learn to live peacefully with the “Androids”.