I pose a question. What happens when mechanization of the work force reaches the point of elimination of human labor?
You don't read si-fi? Don't follow the AI advancements?
I have been obsessed with this for many years. In fact, I was almost ready to toss my Computer Science hat into that ring. I say almost because a wise councilor gave me the heads of about what a blue collar thing robots, will be. This was in the mid-80s.
They had just opened an automated Japan auto plant. But, the councilor had a horror story about the death of a repairman. Seems one those 1 arm, wide reach spot welders had pinned him....bad enough, but then decided to run the row of spot welds on him, which was fatal.
I went with the A/C and sterile Computer Lab, to begin my journey. It was not a bad choice, as we see. Robots are still blue collar jobs for the Techs. A lot safer now.
The latest thinking in the AI dept is that they need to take the idea of machines, deciding we are the problem, very seriously. This is new in science. They rightly see, I think, the real problem, heralded in Science Fiction, like I, Robot, Saberhagen's Berserker series of book, etc.
No Empathy in AI, yet invented. But, this is the focus, now. It looks like at first glance and what they sorta say, is that they don't want humans to be afraid of Bots.
But, if you go a little deeper the main guys are very concerned. We are at the point where we want some decision making from our new critters. But, what is a "good decision?"
Is it the 3 Laws? No....good try, but that could lead to alienation of the Bot as the Overlord Protector of Mankind. The only answer so far, is to not teach them they are different. We have to invent a sense of sameness, ie Empathy, in them that makes them part of us, as they see it.
They have to be more like the dogs, that think they are people.
They have to be us and we have to be them. Mankind becomes Cyborgs or we create our Robot Overlords? A strange choice.
