Robot slaves

Robot Slaves, or AI slavery, is the broad idea of labor and servitude performed by robots.

Present Day

Current interpretations of AI slavery might include automated tasks taken on by machinery, such as dishwashers, sliding doors, or ticketing machines in parking garages.

Other present day interpretations of robot slave labor includes smart homes and their working components (i.e, digital voice assistants), which automates household functions such as temperature, lighting, audio, etc.

Some might even consider the work of digital voice assistants like Alexa or Siri AI servitude because of the subordinate nature of the devices.

Sex Robots

Sex Robots are another form of robot slavery, and perhaps the most sensationalized. They are both a sex doll, and an artificial intelligence. Currently, the most popular and advanced is Roxxxy, which is priced at approximately $10,000. According to Roxxxy's developers, True Companion, she can "doll’s personality can be altered ‘so she likes what you like, and dislikes what you dislike'". Roxxxy's appearance can also be customized to the owners preference upon purchase.

Sex robots are not just robots for the sake of sex, they are there to provide companionship, and that companionship can be manipulated. Such machinery poses a variety of concerns; although some may consider the use of sex robots safer than prostitution, is it ethical to be having such intimate relations with such a human-like artificial intelligence? Given that most sex robots are "female," it contributes to the objectification of women, and idea of a woman being a slave to a man's needs.

Robot Slaves in the Media

Some notable examples Robot Slavery in the media include movies like I, Robot and Blade Runner.

These films share the common theme of using robots as slaves to perform either manual labor, or to "work" menial jobs. Ultimately, the robots gain enough consciousness to realize that they are working as slaves, and decide to revolt against humans.

Ethical Implications

Movies like I, Robot and Blade Runner spark ethical conversation about robotic slave labor. If an artificial intelligence gains consciousness, is the nature of their labor suddenly wrong? Is their labor wrong with or without consciousness? Consequently, the idea of consciousness might then have to be debated.

John Kolber, author of the book "A Celebration Society" writes on Quora , "We need robots to do all of the unpleasant things people now use other people to do.". In his post, he compares the human experience of a person watching someone else in pain to how AI would experience pain. If I watch a friend accidentally chop their finger while they cooking, I may wince, but I will not feel the pain that my friend is currently experiencing. Kolber argues that "self-aware" robots would "experience pain" in this same nature.