Lecture on the Future of Robotics

Yesterday, our LSJ class got to hear a lecture by our law professor on the future of robotics. It was so interesting! He started by talking about the Roomba, a personal robot whose sole purpose is to vacuum your floor. He says that the Roomba is a "closed" robot because it has one purpose and that can't be changed. My professor says that closed robots might become popular for different needs around the house, but innovation resting solely with the particular robot companies might be slow. However, wouldn't it be cool and more innovative to have an "open" robot that can have multiple purposes? Open robots are ones that act as a platform, that can be changed, have 3rd party software added to it, and wouldn't have one set purpose. Think of it like an iPhone or a Droid. You buy the device, but you can download different apps to help you with different aspects of your life. Maybe you want your personal robot to make you coffee in the morning, trim your bushes, and vacuum. With different apps and extensions, one robot could do all of those things!

This really blew my mind! Is this really where our technology is taking us?

But what happens when a robot hurts something or somebody? My teacher argues that you cannot have the people who make the robot responsible and liable for 3rd party contributions to robots. If it was one company who made the entire robot, you would know who to go after if something went wrong. However, by encouraging innovative ideas and allowing different groups to "make apps"and extensions for robots, the original manufacturer isn't to blame. My teacher's idea about liability is that if someone gets hurt with a robot with 3rd party software, the manufacturer of the original robot is not to blame. The 3rd party who made the app or extension to the robot would be to blame. My teacher also says that a robot owner would have to purchase some kind of insurance for their robot.

I have never been super into robots or anything but all of this sounded really cool and innovative to me.
We are so lucky at UW to have really interesting professors!