Paul Luckraft reviews ‘The Robots Are Coming’ by Nigel Cameron (CARE, 2017).
Professor Nigel Cameron is a leading Christian thinker on new technologies and their impact on society.
In conjunction with CARE (Christian Action Research and Education) he has produced two significant books which are highly recommended - not just for those with a particular interest in technology but for all Christians who desire to know what will be affecting humanity in the near future. This week, we review his first book, on robots.
Smarter Than You
Many will be familiar with scenes of robots in factories, making cars and putting together electronic equipment, often doing routine jobs, but now the whole area of robotics is getting more sophisticated – some might say smarter - and more widespread. You may have such a device in your home. You may talk to one regularly. In fact, you will certainly have talked to one over the phone, even if you weren’t aware of it. And one day everything will be ‘smart’: not just your phone or TV but your car and maybe your whole house.
As the author states in his introduction “Every single day that passes, our ability to make these super-intelligent machines even smarter increases. And they get smaller. And cheaper. Every day” (p.viii). So what are the benefits and dangers of such an increase in technology? What are the practical problems and ethical issues? Indeed, what will being human mean in the 21st Century? These are just some of the questions considered in this fascinating book, as well as the important question of ‘Is there a Christian view of robots?’
One day everything will be ‘smart’: not just your phone or TV but your car and maybe your whole house.
The most fundamental question to address, however, is what exactly is a robot? What is meant by such a term? Cameron explains that they come in six main kinds, not just those that look like robots. Some just look like machines. Others look like toys or pets. And then there are a multitude of ‘invisible assistants’: algorithms, with a voice and without. And finally there is the ‘Internet of Things’, a new term for the way everything is becoming interconnected via the internet, for instance, smart meters that communicate directly with energy companies.
After asserting that humans are special as created beings in God’s image, Cameron asks where what we are creating is taking us – are we moving further away from God or in line with his will? For the first time we now have the ability to create something smarter than we are. So what will happen to humanity as we hand over more power and control to these new ‘beings’ which will be able to think and learn faster and better than us?
Future Prospects
Cameron provides some historical background into automation and robotics, and also reminds us of some of the spookier stories that appear in film and fiction, which now seem eerily predictive. But it is the here-and-now, and the immediate future, that grabs our attention.
There is an interesting section on bio-technology and the creation of cyborgs, as well as how cognitive science or neuroscience will transform humanity once we are ‘plugged in’ to all that the new technologies offer.
Cameron discusses prospects for jobs, and the use of robots in the lives of children. ‘Talking’ dolls have been around for decades, but now there are ones that ‘see’ and ‘sense’ the child and can react to a conversation that the child initiates, or even start one based upon the observable mood of the child. If such a doll becomes a special friend, how will this impact the child’s emotional and psychological development? Robots of all kinds are becoming common toys – perhaps you bought one for a Christmas present? Parents need to be aware of what they are giving to their children. Who has produced it and programmed it?
Cameron asks where what we are creating is taking us – are we moving further away from God or in line with his will?
Robo-therapy is new territory but one which is attracting more and more attention. For instance, can robots provide care and companionship for the elderly? Will replacing human carers by robots solve our care crisis?
The author raises many other intriguing aspects of the likely development in robotics. What relationships will develop between robots and humans, and even between robots and robots? How will they be programmed to behave in certain situations? As they become more like us, will we need to provide them with a code of ethics, or a system of ‘robot rights’?!
God is Not Surprised
When considering what God thinks about all this, Cameron stresses that it is important to realise that God is not taken by surprise by what we are doing. We may be surprised by it, but he is not! Cameron points out that God is already “out there in the future” (p 106), always ahead of us. However, whether he is pleased or not is another matter. Whether we are heading towards a self-made catastrophe is left open to debate, but the author is prepared to contemplate another thousand or even another million years of technological progress rather than an imminent end-of-the-world scenario. Discuss!
Overall, the book contains 17 short chapters, easily digestible, and with some questions at the end of each chapter for further thought. There is some repetition as you reach the end, however the book ends in a most intriguing way. The epilogue consists of two imagined future scenarios, set in 2040. The author engages in a bit of fictional speech-writing, suggesting what a future Prime Minister and Archbishop of Canterbury might have to say in two decades’ time!
The book is a glossy production with colour photos and set out in a most accessible way. It is a ‘must read’, for we cannot ignore how our world is already changing. We must become more aware and better informed, and then share with others. The robots are coming – in fact, they’re already here…
‘The Robots Are Coming: Us, Them and God’ (148pp) is available from CARE for £9.99 + P&P. Find out more about CARE at https://www.care.org.uk/. Next week, we review Nigel Cameron’s second book, God and My Mobile.
