{"id":15428,"date":"2007-08-09T12:15:46","date_gmt":"2007-08-09T15:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/?p=15428"},"modified":"2026-01-24T11:57:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T15:57:55","slug":"017-blinded-by-science-robotics-whats-wrong-with-socialism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/archives\/15428","title":{"rendered":"017 &#8211; Robots Rising: Sentient or Soulless?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/017_Robby_The_Robot_168x100.jpg\" alt=\"Robbie the robot\" width=\"168\" height=\"100\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-15430\" \/><audio controls preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/www.justrightmedia.org\/BROADCASTS-2007\/20070809-justRIGHT-017-ROBOTS-SOCIALISM.mp3\" type=\"audio\/mpeg\">&nbsp;<br \/>\nTechnological leaps propel humanity forward at breakneck speed, from electricity to the internet\u2014none predicted by even the boldest science fiction. Today, robotics emerges as the next quantum advance, promising humanoid machines that walk, learn, and interact in ways once confined to comics like Magnus Robot Fighter or Star Trek&#8217;s Data.<\/p>\n<p>Safety concerns already dominate discussions. Reports cite dozens of robot-related accidents in Britain alone, from crushings to molten aluminum spills. Japan&#8217;s guidelines demand sensors, soft materials, and emergency shut-offs, while experts debate liability when autonomous robots learn unpredictably. Isaac Asimov&#8217;s famous Three Laws of Robotics sound logical\u2014protect humans, obey orders, preserve self\u2014but prove riddled with unintended consequences, as Asimov himself demonstrated in his stories.<\/p>\n<p>Deeper questions arise about sentience and morality. Programming right and wrong into silicon minds challenges metaphysics: can machines ever possess true choice, or do they merely execute predetermined instructions? Ethics symposiums tackle unsettling issues, from robots strong enough to crush owners to the imminent arrival of sex robots.<\/p>\n<p>Local politics mirrors these themes. Debates at London City Hall over industrial development reveal a socialist resistance to market-driven growth, even when projects involve high-tech robotics. Labels like &#8220;socialist cabal&#8221; spark outrage, yet the contrast remains clear: government control versus individual management, coercion versus voluntary exchange. Socialism relies on force to achieve its ends, while true management thrives only in freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Philosophy underpins it all\u2014metaphysics, epistemology, and morality guide whether technology serves good or evil. The choice belongs solely to creators and users.<\/p>\n<p>Recognizing these polarities in technology and politics proves just right.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"custom-button\" href=\"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/017-Transcript\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Transcript<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/support\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"custom-button\">Donate<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Technological leaps propel humanity forward at breakneck speed, from electricity to the internet\u2014none predicted by even the boldest science fiction. Today, robotics emerges as the next quantum advance, promising humanoid machines that walk, learn, and interact in ways once confined to comics like Magnus Robot Fighter or Star Trek&#8217;s Data. Safety concerns already dominate <a href='https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/archives\/15428' class='excerpt-more'>[Continue Reading]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,28,6,43,599,120,608],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-latest","category-politics","category-science","category-science-tech","category-socialism","category-technology-science-tech","issues-robotics","issues-science-2","issues-socialism-2","category-12-id","category-28-id","category-6-id","category-43-id","category-599-id","category-120-id","category-608-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15428"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16244,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15428\/revisions\/16244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}