Robots by: Kelin Eichhorn

           In the year 2006, the world population of robots was 4.5 million; the next year, the population grew to 6.5 million. In 2008, the last robotic population recorded was an astounding 8.6 million and is estimated to nearly double this amount by 2012. Looking at this statistic from the website spectrum.ieee.org we can see the abundance of robots in our daily lives. Robots are by far the worst invention of all time due to several downfalls, including their lack of emotion, their part in industry, and possible failures of their motherboard.

            To begin, robots are not made with emotions and feelings. This can cause serious problems in certain jobs. For instance, if a robot had a job in a hospital, it would need certain emotions to be able to comfort those who need it; only humans can give that kind of comfort. According to superlink.com, “Current robots do not meet standard necessary conditions for having emotions: they lack consciousness, mental states, and feelings.”. I think that if robots are missing key elements in human emotion, they shouldn’t be able to hold human jobs, especially those that require an immense amount of feeling.  Robots should stick to rolling around on the floor, vacuuming my carpet, and recharging itself.

            Another fault of robotics is the fact that they’re replacing workers! It seems as though everyone thinks robots are amazing, thinking that robots could get a pop from the refrigerator or clean a room. Unfortunately, robots are being used for many jobs, replacing the average assembly line worker. In an article by sciencedaily.com, it states that, “In the car industry, there is one robot per 10 workers in Japan, Italy and Germany.”. Looking at this statistic you can see why robots are rapidly taking over the work industry.
             Lastly, robot’s biggest downfall is the threat of losing control. Everyone has seen the movies where humans are running for their lives away from robots, unfortunately this idea isn’t too far off. Robots are now being programmed to have morals and consciences’. If this is to happen in our near future robots will be able to make their own decisions and choices without being directed to do so. Maybe we should be a little more cautious when it comes to engineering these machines.
            Conversely, I can understand why people think robots are a good invention. These machines are able to go into space without health issues and aging; this means that we can control robots from the earth to navigate other planets and maybe someday, a new solar system. Robots are also starting to do the dangerous jobs that humans are afraid to do, like mining and disarming bombs. Maybe someday robots can be used to free humans completely from life threatening jobs. Now that would be a useful purpose!
            In conclusion, I believe robots are a horrible invention; their bad qualities heavily out weigh their good qualities. In some cases these machines may have some significance, but not at the moment. People need to realize that robots are not as amazing as they seem! They have no emotion what so ever, they are rapidly replacing human workers, and someday they may become a serious threat. Like I said before, maybe they should just stick to vacuuming my floors.

Works Cited

 “Ethics and Information Technology.” January 14, 2010. superlink.com

“World robot population: 4.5 million--and counting.” January 14, 2010. spectrum.ieee.org

“A Robot in Every Home.” January 14, 2010. sciencedaily.com

Dress code or expression restriction?

    People choose to exspress themselves in many different ways, from the the things they say, to the things they do. People my age tend to do it through style, clothes, hair, makeup, piercings, tattoos. We choose to represent ourselves and our feelings through colorful or dark clothing, sayings on our shirts, pictures of famous people or cartoons, and although our schools are trying to be fair with the dress code, sometimes they overstep their bounds.
    I do believe the school has good intentions with the dress code; keeping clothes appropriate for school is important. I know our teachers don't want to be staring at students who's shirts are too low cut or gang signs are being portrayed on t-shirts, while they are teaching. On the otherhand, I do not understand why piercings, tattoos, ect. are unaccepted in schools. I believe body piercings are a small way of expressing ones self. Schools claim that body piercings are distracting and deminish reputations. I don't agree with this statement at all; in fact, I have my naval pierced. One would never know I have a body piercing because I don't flaunt it; I believe that those who cause distractions with body piercings should have them taken away, but otherwise they should be allowed.