"We are the Robots"!

"Kraftwerk" was one of my favorite music bands in my college days. The melodies that they composed and played had prophetic titles, some of them going by names as follows :

• "We are the robots"
• "The Man Machine"
• "Computer world"

...etc.

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, the emerging scenario seems to herald the rise of the machines, terminator style. Humanoids are all set to conquer the world in less than a few decades, they say,.....;will they?

Automation seems to be the buzzword these days. Any simple routine, repeatable operation or task with a process logic and sequence in any part of life maybe vulnerable; a sitting duck for getting automated. The low hanging fruits are almost taken. With the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, machine learning and AI, natural life may transform to a metallic and synthetic robotized paradigm. 

They say millions of jobs will vanish in the next decade. Unemployment in the "blue-collar" ranks is expected to be rampant. Imagine the plight of a large part of the global workforce with no jobs to look forward to! One would envisage that psychiatrists and counselors may have a field day, laughing all the way to their banks, catering to large masses of the population in depression. If technology takes over the world, what will be value of human feelings? 

 Is this the future that is emerging?

Let's become a little more conscious of the reality that when gainful employment disappears, so does purchasing power in the economy. Machines will feed on energy to deliver outputs, but they are not likely to buy items of mass consumption or avail of services (which themselves may get automated, by the way!). How will the wheels and engines of the economy get lubricated in such a situation?

Will scientists be able to replicate the intricate workings of the human brain to the last synapse, by the turn of the 21st century?

Will all the complex networks of neural pathways in the cerebral cortex, medulla and the limbic systems be deciphered to their granularity?

Will all the neurons with their axons, dendrites and action potentials be decoded so that sensors and software programs can direct every action command through electronic circuits in a humanoid?

What will happen to the automatic reflexive human systems governed by the amygdala, the site of emotions and feelings in a humanoid? 

Will a machine be able to demonstrate intuition, or genuinely display feelings of compassion, warmth, desire, anger, sadness or fear?

Can we imagine a robot basking radiantly in warm sunshine, enjoying cool idyllic breeze or gushing with happiness at the sight of a smiling baby?

Will they derive algorithms for these basic human characteristics?   

Is this the world that our children will inherit from us?

Is this the legacy that we will leave behind for our future generations?

My naïve layman mind is filled with such radically weird and bizarre questions ever since the new technological waves have threatened to engulf the sea of humanity.

One enviable thought for the technological day that is around the corner - robots will not pay taxes!