When robots outnumber humans

When robots outnumber humans

A commentator says that what Taiwan needs is “a small government and a big economy”.

Another commentator says that when a society relies mostly on artificial intelligence and robots to perform routine daily chores, provide services, and engage in manufacturing and production, there will be an overabundance of unemployed human labor and this will become a political and social problem.

Still another commentator says that artificial intelligence and robots cannot replace humans in tasks that involve emotional communication between humans.

Our two tellers of misfortune and futurists Art and Sage get together to talk about all of this.  They doubt the validity of these statements and their conclusions.  They ask:

Is an ideal democracy ever possible in a society where robots outnumber humans?

Art:  Let’s talk about the possibility of human-robot emotional communication.  What about nonverbal communication and “emotional bonding” between a human and his or her pet?  There is emotional communication between dogs, cats and their owners.  Is emotional attachment to a robot not conceivable or not possible?

What about human emotional attachment to sexy humanoid robot dolls and robot sex dolls? Advances now being made in incorporating AI into such lifelike sex dolls may soon enable them to provide both physical and psychological comfort to men and women alike if the industry produces male versions of the current lifelike female AI sex dolls.  At least one-way emotional attachment to an AI sex doll is possible. It is the human who needs emotional comfort and sex, not the AI robot nor the AI sex doll.

Family life of too many people is plagued by alcoholism, sexual abuse, domestic violence, emotional and psychological abuse, wife beating, child beating, and such nasty human behavior.  A lifelike AI sex doll does not drink alcohol, does not get drunk, cannot become alcoholic.  It would not be able to commit physical violence out of emotional outbursts, jealousy and anger.  It is incapable of committing emotional and psychological abuse.  It does not “beat” its human “wife” and it would not “beat” human children.

It is also conceivable that a lifelike AI sex doll can be implanted with human eggs in its artificial womb.  Intercourse between a human male and a lifelike AI sex doll carrying human eggs in its artificial womb would allow the sperm to penetrate the egg and fertilize it, enabling it to grow into a fetus inside the sex doll’s artificial womb.  The sex doll’s artificial womb could also be filled with artificially produced embryonic fluid for the growth of the embryo and fetus within the sex doll’s artificial womb.  The sex doll essentially would serve as a surrogate mother.

Sage:  It seems that AI sex dolls, both in female form and in male form, can provide emotional as well as sexual gratification to humans.  Having sex with a lifelike AI sex doll would be like masturbation.  So what about the other statements and conclusions?

Art:  First, the argument that a small government can create a big economy has already been proven false.  The Chinese mainland government has a big government that has created a big domestic economy.

Sage:  Is an overabundance of unemployed human labor resulting from the widespread use of AI and robots in society a political and social problem?

Art:  It will depend on how this overabundance of unemployed human labor is managed. If their basic survival and a certain level of livelihood are guaranteed and provided by the government, it would most likely not become a political and a social problem.

Sage:  Those who receive this free government subsidy must sign a legal document promising that they will not engage in any type of criminal activity.  Social behavior laws must be strict, and misbehavior such as defacing public property, random attacks on passersby, is not to be tolerated.

Art:  Since robots now outnumber humans, the government consisting of humans can be a democracy in which all humans have the right to vote and to select their government. This government, however, should be a government led by decision-making committees rather than by an individual as president or as prime minister who makes personal decisions.  Decision-making would be by consensus.  Human political parties with their own political agendas must be abolished to ensure that each human voter is guaranteed absolute free will in voting, and the voters must not be influenced in any way by a political party’s agenda.  In essence, there will be no political party campaigns, only individual campaigns.  The voting humans vote to elect their committee representatives who collectively serve as the governing body.  Since there are no political parties, there will not be any single political party dominating the governing committee.  The government would be under a collective leadership of the decision-making committee. An executive committee would be the administrative authority to implement policy. Bureaucratic functions would be robotized.

Sage:  What about check and balance?

Art:  Check and balance as in a democratic government with separation of powers are necessary if a single political party dominates the legislature, the senate and congress. Such dominance is eliminated if political parties are banned and do not exist, and the governing body consists of only individuals with no political party affiliation.  The only political support a candidate has is from his or her politically unorganized supporters.

If all political parties are banned, there would not be any political organization that will dominate voters, misguide voters, and force voters to follow a certain biased political agenda.

Sage:  What about government administration and implementation of policy?

Art:  Administrative decisions are made by consensus only after evaluation and optimization are done by supercomputer analysis and AI analysis. This capability has already been demonstrated by the man versus machine chess and Go matches in which the human players have been defeated by the machine player.  Robots and AI devices can carry out and implement all bureaucratic functions from clerical to field inspections to conducting war.

Sage:  Then even scientific research would be a joint effort of humans and AI.

Art:  It would then be possible for a democratic society to have a small human government with a big economy sustained by robots and AI.