Response to "Integration of Philosophy and Robotics"

The article, "Integration of Philosophy and Robotics" is written by a junior called Bae Sungwoo. In this article, he ponders upon where robots should be placed in the hierarchy of nature. He not only studies robotics but also reads numerous books of philosophy in order to get an answer for his question. This question has been quite popular since the technology has developed to the extent where the scientists can instill a mental system into the robots. Several famous Hollywood movies featured such dilemma as well. 

In my opinion, I think robots should be placed with objects rather than equally with human beings. Although they do get the ability to make moral decisions, they are still the products of human technology. The reason for their existence is to ease the life of humans. If they were to be given a mental system or ability to think by themselves, the purpose of such endowment would be strictly limited to assist human lives in any kind of sense. Therefore, I believe that although the robots were to think just like we do, they should not be treated or placed equally in the hierarchy. Personally, I think it should be prohibited to establish an artificial mental system in any kind of devices we create. The devices should always pursue value neutrality. 

In the last paragraph, Sungwoo says that philosophy and robotics are not separate but rather complementary. I do agree with his statement. People tend to dichotomize the fields of studies into two big categories: liberal arts or natural science. However, these two should sometimes be mixed in situations when the use of natural science  need judgement based on humanity education just like in Sungwoo's situation.

I enjoyed reading his article because it shows the person. I never knew he was interested in robotics and I do now, having read this article. I should write an article like this sometimes that shows me, the person.