SOCIAL IMPLICATION OF

ROBOTS – AN OVERVIEW BY
ONONIWU VALENTINE CHIBUIKE
21EH/0121/EE
(TELECOMMUNICATION)

A FINAL YEAR SEMINAR PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY (SET)

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY FEDERAL
POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE OWERRI, IMO STATE.

IN PARTIAL FUFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF HIGHER NATIONAL

DIPLOMA (HND) IN ELECTRICAL / ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING.

AUGUST, 2023
SUPERVISED BY: ENGR. DR. B.C. AGWAH
 INTRODUCTION
 ROBOTS HAVE BEEN THE TOPIC IN BOOKS AND FILMS FOR DECADES, ONE OF THE IMPORTANT BOOK AUTHORS, ISAAC ASIMOV, STATED WRITING
ON THIS TOPIC IN 1939. BUT IT ALL USED TO BE SCIENCE FICTION (L. ROBOT 1939). ACCORDING TO (HOCKSTEIN ET AL., 2007) THE TRANSITION
OF ROBOTS FROM FICTION TO THE REALITY HAPPENED WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF UNIMATE BY GENERAL MOTORS IN 1958 AS THE FIRST
INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS. AS STATED BY HOCKSTEIN ET AL., 2007 THE WORD ROBOT IS A DERIVATION FROM THE CZECH WORD ROBOTA WHICH IS
HAVING THE MEANINGS OF LABORER OR SERF. THE TERM ROBOT HAS BEEN INTRODUCED TO EXISTENCE BY CZECH WRITER KAREL CAPEK IN
HIS PLAY R.U.R. (ROSSUM’S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS IN 1921). THE DEFINITIONS GIVEN TO ROBOTS IN GENERAL HAVE BASED ON DIFFERENT
ASPECTS OVER TIME. THERE IS NO CONCRETE DEFINITION OF ROBOTS. THE DEFINITIONS VARY ACCORDING TO THE APPLICATION, INTEGRATED
METHODOLOGY, SIZE AND SHAPE. ROBOTS ARE EMBODIED MACHINES EQUIPPED WITH SENSORS AND ACTUATORS AND SOME (POTENTIALLY
LIMITED) DEGREE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (EDWIN WISE). THE FIRST INDUSTRY REVOLUTION WAS ENERGIZED BY STEAM, THE SECOND BY
ELECTRICITY, AND THIRD BY COMPUTERS, CURRENTLY, THE FOURTH INDUSTRY REVOLUTION (INDUSTRY 4.0) IS FUSED BY DIFFERENT
TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING A.I THAT IS ALTERING BUSINESSES AS WELL AS HUMAN LIVES BEYOND EXPECTATIONS (KARABEGOVIC 2018).THE
RECOGNITION OF THOSE ROBOTS WAS ALMOST THE SAME AS THE MACHINES, YET AUTOMATED. AT PRESENT, APPLICATIONS OF ROBOTS IN
DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES AND SECTORS ARE FREQUENTLY RESEARCHED AND EXPERIMENTED (RIGHETTI AND CARRADORE, 2019). HOWEVER,
THE INTENTION OF SOCIALIZING ROBOTS HAS TAKEN THE SPOTLIGHT. ALONG WITH THE SOCIALIZING CONCEPT, HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION
HAS SPROUTED AS A VITAL CONCERN. ALSO, THE ROBOTS' SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE IS CLASSIFIED AS TECHNOLOGICAL FIXES, WHICH RESEMBLES
THE IDEA OF SOLVING CRITICAL PROBLEMS IN NON-TECHNICAL NATURE BY USING THE APPLICATIONS IN TECHNOLOGY (ŠABANOVIĆ, 2010).
THEREFORE, THIS STUDY ADDRESSES THE RESEARCH GAP BY IDENTIFYING THE VALUES OF AI-BASED ROBOTS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND
ORGANIZATIONS. (ASHWINI ET AL., 2021).
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
 OVER THE YEARS, MANKIND HAVE BEEN THE BRAIN, HEART AND MUSCLE OF
GROWTH OF INDUSTRIES, WORKFORCE ETC. DUE TO THE WIDE DEPLOYMENT OF
ROBOTS, A.L AND OTHER MAN-MADE ROBOT RELATED TECHNOLOGY IN OUR SOCIETY
SUCH AS HEALTHCARE, FINANCIAL INDUSTRIES, AGRICULTURAL SECTOR,
MANUFACTURING FACTORIES, INDUSTRIES ETC. HAS ALREADY INITIATED
TRANSFORMATION OF OUR SOCIETY IN PREFERENCE OF DURABILITY, PRECISE, IN
COMPARISON TO MAN IN HIS SOCIETY.

 DENYING HUMANS, ROLES TO ACTUALLY SHOW THEIR INTELLIGENCE OR PRECISE

AND AGILITY TO WORK EFFECTIVELY.

 DENYING EMPLOYMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS WHERE BUILDING AND FEEDBACK IS

 AIMS/OBJECTIVES

THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO DISSECT ROBOTS, ITS IMPACT ON

SOCIETY MOST ESPECIALLY TO WORKFORCE AND THE
CONSIDERATIONS CONCERNING ITS WIDE DEPLOYMENT.
 OBJECTIVES
 TO IDENTIFY THE IMPLICATIONS OF ROBOTS IN REGARDS TO
WORKFORCE IN INDUSTRY
 TO IDENTIFY THE RATE OF PREFERENCE OF ROBOTS OVER
HUMAN IN THE WORKFORCE SOCIETY
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
AT THE COMPLETION OF THE STUDY, IT WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO THE FOLLOWING

TO THE GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRIES, AND SOCIETY AT LARGE, THE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICALLY EXTENT TO
WHICH ROBOTS HAS CONTRIBUTED TO UNEMPLOYMENT OF MAN IN SOCIETY.

TO THE RESEARCHER, THIS RESEARCH WILL REVEAL THE OPINION OF SOCIETY ON THE INVOLVEMENT OF ROBOTS
TO THE INDUSTRY.

TO THE STUDENT AND FURTHER RESEARCHERS, THIS WILL SERVE AS A VERITABLE SOURCE OF SECONDARY DATA.

SCOPE OF WORK
IN RESPONSE TO ACHIEVING THE OBJECTIVE WHILE ANSWERING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS, THIS PAPER WILL
FIRST ACHIEVE ITS GROUND FROM THE THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE BASED ON THE EXISTING LITERATURE
REVIEWS ON ROBOTS. AFTERWARD, FINDINGS WILL BE EXTRACTED TO ANSWER THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS. ALL
THIS WILL BE DISCUSSED IN SEPARATE SECTION WHICH ARE INTRODUCED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
THIS CHAPTER DESCRIBES THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESEARCH AND THE
UTILIZATION OF RESEARCH METHODS. STATING OF TWO-SUB SECTIONS, FIRST THE
METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT THE RESEARCH IS DESCRIBED, SECONDLY, THE DATA
COLLECTION METHOD AND METHOD ARE DESCRIBED.
RESEARCH METHOD
A LITERATURE REVIEW APPROACH IS USED IN THIS RESEARCH BASED ON THE
DEFINITIONS OF JOHAN ET AL., 2016, AND WEBSTER AND WATSON 2002,
DEVELOPMENT OF A LITERATURE REVIEW IS CARRIED OUT USING AN ORGANIZED
OBJECTIVE RESEARCH STRATEGY AND RIGOROUS REVIEW TECHNIQUES AIMING TO
SYNTHESIZE STUDIES ON A SPECIFIC TOPIC AND IDENTIFIES RELEVANT DOCUMENTS
AND SOURCES. THESE RESEARCH WAS DONE FROM THE OPINION AND FACTS OF
OTHER AUTHOR'S ON THE SUBJECT MATTER.
IDENTIFY ALL THE CONCERNS, PROBLEMS, AND DIFFICULTIES CONCERNING SOCIAL
ROBOTS, PARTICULARLY INDUSTRIAL WORKFORCE ROBOTS;
PROVIDING A COMPREHENSIVE ROADMAP OF THE MOST PRESSING ISSUES IN THIS
 DATA COLLECTION
THE RESEARCH SERIES HAD MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES, AND THEY WERE ORGANIZED ACCORDINGLY:
COLLECTING DIFFERENT OPINIONS FROM DIFFERENT AUTHORS, INCLUDING THERAPISTS,
ROBOTICISTS, INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES, ACADEMICS, AND LEGAL PRACTITIONERS WORKING ON
THE USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL ROBOTS;
FROM THE VIEWS AND FACTS OF OTHER AUTHOR'S, INDUSTRIAL AND GOVERNMENTAL STATISTICS ON
EMPLOYMENT REGARDING THE INDUCTION OF ROBOTS.
ANALYSIS
WITH MORE AND MORE PEOPLE, EXPERTS INCLUDED, BECOMING VERY SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE
ADVANCE OF ROBOTICS AND AI, IT’S ONLY NATURAL TO WANT TO DIG DEEPER INTO ROBOTICS
INDUSTRY STATISTICS TO SEE WHAT THE HYPE IS ALL ABOUT. ROBOTS ARE REPLACING HUMANS IN
VIRTUALLY ALL INDUSTRIES—DECADES AGO THE CAR INDUSTRY, FOR INSTANCE, USED TO EMPLOY A
LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT NOW MACHINES DO MOST OF THE WORK. THE ADVENT OF THE ROBOTICS
INDUSTRY HAS NUMEROUS IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMANITY AS A WHOLE, AND THEY ARE NEITHER ALL
POSITIVE NOR ALL NEGATIVE. THE ROBOTICS INDUSTRY STATS THAT WE’LL ADDRESS TODAY WILL
DEMONSTRATE JUST HOW COMPLEX THE AI SITUATION IS
ROBOTS TO REPLACE HUMAN

ROBOT IS REALLY A HEAVY WEIGHT IN THE INDUSTRY SOCIETY, BEING ONE OF THE MOST PERFECT CREATION OF MAN, THE
INTRODUCTION OF ROBOTS HAVE REALLY HELP MANKIND BUT IN ALL ADVANTAGES THERE ARE ALSO DISADVANTAGES.
RESEARCHERS AND AUTHORS OF DIFFERENT BOOK HAVE MADE US TO KNOW THIS ADVANTAGES IN INDUSTRIES, HEALTHCARE,
EDUCATION ETC. AND ALSO THE DISADVANTAGES THEY HAVE BROUGHT TO OUR SOCIETY AT LARGE IN SIDES OF UNEMPLOYMENT,
ADDICTION TO SOCIAL COMPANION ROBOTS AND SEXUAL PLEASURE ROBOTS (SEX BOT).COMPANION ROBOTS ARE BECOMING
INCREASINGLY POPULAR AS PEOPLE IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES SEEM TO BE GETTING LONELIER AND LONELIER. IN JAPAN, FOR
INSTANCE, 14% OF THE TOTAL POPULATION LIVES ALONE. COMPANION ROBOTS ARE PRETTY FLEXIBLE. THEY CAN TAKE CARE OF
THE ELDERLY, ENTERTAIN CHILDREN, BE HUMANOID OR ANIMAL-LIKE, INTEGRATE WITH OTHER SMART HOME DEVICES, AND EVEN
FUNCTION AS A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT OF SORTS.

THE ROBOTICS IS ADVANCING RAPIDLY AND THE ROBOTS ARE ALMOST ABLE TO ACT LIKE NORMAL PERSON, THIS GENERATES A
LOT OF INTEREST IN EXISTENCE OF MAN IN THE SOCIETY. ACCORDING TO KENNEDY CHINEDU OKAFOR (IEEE DISTINGUISHED
SPEAKER/CISCO EXPERT) "WITH THE CONTEXT OF ETHICAL LAWS, ROBOTS CANNOT REPLACE HUMANS. WITH THE COMEST
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION CONCERNING THE APPLICATION OF ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGIES, THERE IS NO WAY ROBOTS WILL
REPLACE HUMANS. ALBERT HUBBARD ADDED “THAT THE MACHINE CAN DO THE WORK OF FIFTY ORDINARY MEN, NO MACHINE
CAN DO THE WORK OF ONE EXTRAORDINARY MAN". PEOPLE ARE UNDERRATED BECAUSE OF THE EXISTENCE TO ROBOT, BUT THEY
CAN'T BE REPLACED FOREVER SAID C.J PRINCE ON HIS ARTICLE ON ROBOT BEING OVERRATED
 CONCLUSION
THE PRESENTATION OF STATISTICAL FIGURES AND FACTS AS WELL AS PREDICTIONS AND PROJECTIONS,
MANY OF WHICH HAVE BEEN VINDICATED BY TIME WITH THE FOREGOING DISCUSSIONS TENDS TO MAKE
IT EVIDENT THAT ROBOTS ARE DISPLACING AND WILL KEEP DISPLACING WORKERS. THE PERSPECTIVES
WE PRESENTED BROUGHT TO LIGHT BOTH THE PROS AND CONS OF ROBOTS ON OUR SOCIAL LIFE. THERE
IS HIGH POTENTIAL FOR ROBOT INSTALLATIONS IN MANY COUNTRIES FOLLOWING THE CURRENT
GLOBAL TREND. ROBOT DENSITY FIGURES HAVE BEEN ON THE INCREASES SINCE THEIR INTRODUCTION
INTO THE WORKPLACE AND SO ARE OBVIOUS SIGNS OF GRADUAL AND GROWING DISPLACEMENT OF
HUMANS. SOME NEW JOBS ARE BEING CREATED BY INTRODUCTION OF ROBOTS INTO THE WORKPLACE.
NEVERTHELESS, THESE NEW JOBS WILL DEMAND SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TRAINING AND RETRAINING
BECAUSE OF THEIR HIGH TECHNICAL NATURE. FURTHER IMPLICATION OF THE ROBOT REVOLUTION IS
THAT WORKERS MAY FIND THEMSELVES WITH MORE LEISURE TIME. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT THIS
WOULD STIMULATE GROWTH IN INDUSTRIES RELATED TO RECREATION (KLAFTER ET AL., 2006). IN FACT,
A PREDICTION MADE BY DUBIN (1956), “THAT THE IMPORTANCE OF WORK FOR PEOPLE AS A ‘CENTRAL
LIFE INTEREST’ MAY DECLINE AS ROBOTS REPLACE THEM” MAY BECOME A REALITY AS THE RESULT OF
THE USE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY.
 RECOMMENDATION
IT IS THE STRONG VIEW OF THE AUTHORS THAT ROBOTS SHOULD NOT BE INTRODUCED IN THE
WORKPLACE WITH IMPUNITY. THERE OUGHT TO BE A COMPREHENSIVE APPRAISAL OF THE EFFECTS OF
ROBOTS IN EVERY SPECIFIC WORKPLACE FOLLOWED BY A CORRESPONDING STRATEGY TO ADDRESS
EXHAUSTIVELY THE POSSIBLE SOCIAL PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED PRIOR TO THEIR INTRODUCTION IN THE
GIVEN WORKPLACE. GOVERNMENTS SHOULD DEMAND FROM EACH FIRM WISHING TO INTRODUCE
ROBOTS A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT OF ITS OVERALL STRATEGY AS IT AFFECTS HUMANS BEFORE GIVING
APPROVAL FOR ROBOTS IN THAT WORKPLACE. A SITUATION WHERE FIRMS PURSUE THEIR PROFIT
MAXIMIZATION GOALS BLINDLY, GLOSSING OVER THEIR BACKLASH ON SOCIETY ESPECIALLY IN THE
CONTEXT OF ROBOTS IN THE WORKPLACE SHOULD BE DECLARED UNACCEPTABLE BY THE UNITED
NATIONS. THIS WILL MAKE IT BINDING ON NATIONS TO TAKE THE INTERESTS OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS
INTO CONSIDERATION BEFORE APPROVING EACH USE OF ROBOTS IN THE WORKPLACE. THIS IS A VERY
IMPORTANT SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNMENTS AND TO NEGLECT IT TO COURT DISASTER IN THE
DECADES AHEAD. FURTHER STUDY ON AVERAGE NUMBER OF HUMANS DISPLACED PER MULTIPURPOSE
INDUSTRIAL ROBOT INTRODUCED IN THE WORKPLACE IS RECOMMENDED. THIS WILL BRING TO LIGHT
THE RATE AT WHICH ROBOTS ARE DISPLACING HUMANS IN THE WORKPLACE. IT IS STILL AN ONGOING
DEBATE AMONG EXPERTS AND ACADEMICS REGARDING THE INCREASED USE AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF
ROBOTS ON SOCIETY. ALSO, EXPERTS HAVE BEEN CONTINUALLY EXPLORING THE ISSUES RELATED TO
WHAT ETHICS SHOULD BE THERE TO GOVERN THE USE OF ROBOTS, THEIR BEHAVIOR, WHETHER ROBOTS
MIGHT BE ABLE TO CLAIM ANY KIND OF SOCIAL, LEGAL OR ETHICAL RIGHTS
REFERENCES
ASHWINI, S. SADIN, B. AND MUABID , B. (2021). RESEARCH PAPER ON ROBOTICS. CONTEMPORARY
RESEARCH IN INDIA. ISSN 2231 – 2137.
BELPAEME, F., ANDERSSON, P. AND ROSENQVIST, C. (2018), “MOBILE MUSIC, CUSTOMER VALUE, AND
CHANGING MARKET NEEDS”, THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDIA MANAGEMENT, VOL. 8 NO. 2, PP.
92–103.
CHIJINDU, V. AND INYIAMA, C. (2012). SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF ROBOTS. AN OVERVIEW.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 7(8) PP. 1270 – 1270.
ESTIFANOS, T. (2020). ROBOTICS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING. 10(2).
GOCKLEY, S., MANDEL, W. AND RESENBLATT, J. (1982). THE ROBOT REVOLUTION. EDITORIAL RESEARCH
REPORTS. 82: 347-364.
SALICHS, A., RUPPERT, F., AND OMEEG, A. (2006). LEARNING PLASTIC MATCHING OF ROBOT DYNAMICS
IN CLOSED-LOOP CENTRAL PATTERN GENERATORS. NATURE MACHINE INTELLIGENCE, 4(7), 652–
660. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.1038/S42256-022-00505-4
THANK YOU