It’s a known fact that robots are here, and they are continuing to advance faster than we think. Some people think that they are harmless and pose no threat to us. However, I believe that robots do in fact pose a threat and could even lead to the end of the human race if we allowed them. 

There are all sorts of robots being developed by scientists, and although some may be small, they still have the capability to do things that robots shouldn’t be able to do. There is a microscopic species of robot known as Xenobot. This robot is named after the species of frog stem cells they are made from, Xenopus laevis.

 Scientists from the universities of Harvard, Vermont and Tufts, Joshua Bongard, Sam Kriegman, Douglas Blackiston and Micheal Levon, have named these Xenobots “living robots”. Xenobots are believed to have developed the ability to reproduce on their own. Although developed from frogs, these living robots have begun to reproduce in a way that does not match the reproduction of frogs. The Xenobots were also designed to behave only the way they were programmed to. However, the robots have also begun to behave on what seems like their own will. While they may be microscopic and pose no threat, I still would not trust them. If robots were to continue to advance in their ability to act on their own, this could pose a threat to humanity. Imagine in the future, a robot has decided that it wants to randomly take over the world. If we can not control the robots then them being able to do anything for themselves, it will prevent us from being able to stop them in an electronic way, which is how they are controlled.

Another robot, which many people may be more familiar with, is Sophia. Having appeared on the Tonight Show and Good Morning Britain–also hundreds of other concerts around the world–she is one of the most famous robots there are. Sophia is capable of replicating 67 different facial expressions, singing and other human-like actions. She has even been declared a legal citizen of Saudi Arabia. Her creator, Dr. David Hanson, CEO of Hanson Robotics, stated in an interview, “I do believe that there will be a time when robots are indistinguishable from humans.” Doesn’t that sound like something someone who is assisting the robots in the overthrow of humanity, would say? If you truly believe that people will one day not be able to tell whether the person they are talking to is a robot or a person, this will allow robots to infiltrate our social structure and could potentially lead to the overthrow of humanity.

I ran a poll among some fellow students in my class and many have agreed that they think robots will be the end of humanity. Some of these students include Maddie Lewis, Gracie Zimmerman and Preston Anderson. 

Do you think that robots will end us, or will we avoid the inevitable and continue on living amongst robots peacefully?