Danger from Autonomous Robotic Systems

When the film Terminator first spoke of Judgement Day when the robots would take over the planet using Skynet, it was at best a fantasy that seemed many years away. Guess what? Not any more. The autonomous robotic systems that are being designed and used today can actually be seen as a potential threat.

Today these systems need to be able to take instant decisions in situations without getting human input. This has made it possible for robots to act in a manner that they consider best. If these systems are not designed with care we could end up in a situation where the autonomous robotic system decides that its self protection is more important than human life.

It could get more resources to improve itself by manipulation, cyber theft and domination. It may decide to improve its own efficiency by using resources differently from what its creators intended it to. There may also be a problem when it decides to remove design constraints because they are holding back the system development.

Is it beginning to sound more and more like Skynet taking over the world? It should worry you because unless the autonomous robotic systems are designed with care, any of these above situations could prove detrimental to humans around the system. How would you approach this science project?