This book is about the questions that arise in a society where robotics is increasingly important. Robotics is developing at such a fast rate that we do not stop to think about the questions that this raises. This book tries to uncover the fundamental questions that we face as a society with advancing robotics. We still don’t have good answers for these questions, and the author does not try to find them--it would indeed be impossible, even a matter of omniscience. But we should first identify the important questions in order to have any hope of making the right decisions when looking for answers.

The book first goes back to the prehistoric times of robotics, to the emergence of the idea in popular culture, which still shapes our ideas about robots today. Then it moves to robotics in current times, giving many examples of the sense-think-act paradigm that generalizes even to pure software bots.

After dealing with robots in general, the author focuses on some areas where robotics is flourishing: autonomous vehicles and warfare. These fields will be significantly impacted in the coming years. The omnipresence of vehicles in our lives means that when they become autonomous, our lives will probably change in ways that we can’t even envision today. Warfare is another area where robots can change everything. What will happen when a country can make war with another country without risking human lives? How will other nations (and the United Nations) deal with it?

The author also looks at economic questions. We still don’t have a very good understanding of the unemployment caused by current robots, mostly used in scenarios like industrial assembly lines. How about when robots start replacing lawyers, teachers, researchers, and other more analytical professionals?

Finally, the book deals with questions about how we will behave in a mixed society, with humans and robots sharing the same spaces. It will happen soon in traffic, when autonomous vehicles become common, but it will also happen in other settings, like hospitals with robot nurses and the like. How will humans accept such company? Will we treat robots the same as people?

This book is a wake-up call for every one of us. Things are changing dramatically right before our eyes; will we be able to deal with the important questions and make good decisions? Poor early answers may have a negative impact for generations; it’s in our best interest to raise awareness about these questions as soon as possible, in order to have a better chance of finding the right answers.

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