New Laws of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise in the Age of AI

by Frank Pasquale

AI is poised to disrupt our work and our lives. We can harness these technologies rather than fall captive to them―but only through wise regulation.

Too many CEOs tell a simple story about the future of if a machine can do what you do, your job will be automated. They envision everyone from doctors to soldiers rendered superfluous by ever-more-powerful AI. They offer stark make robots or be replaced by them.

Another story is possible. In virtually every walk of life, robotic systems can make labor more valuable, not less. Frank Pasquale tells the story of nurses, teachers, designers, and others who partner with technologists, rather than meekly serving as data sources for their computerized replacements. This cooperation reveals the kind of technological advance that could bring us all better health care, education, and more, while maintaining meaningful work. These partnerships also show how law and regulation can promote prosperity for all, rather than a zero-sum race of humans against machines.

How far should AI be entrusted to assume tasks once performed by humans? What is gained and lost when it does? What is the optimal mix of robotic and human interaction? New Laws of Robotics makes the case that policymakers must not allow corporations or engineers to answer these questions alone. The kind of automation we get―and who it benefits―will depend on myriad small decisions about how to develop AI. Pasquale proposes ways to democratize that decision making, rather than centralize it in unaccountable firms. Sober yet optimistic, New Laws of Robotics offers an inspiring vision of technological progress, in which human capacities and expertise are the irreplaceable center of an inclusive economy.

Genres: Artificial Intelligence, Nonfiction, Technology, Science, Audiobook, Philosophy, Law

344 pages, Hardcover

Published October 27, 2020

Reviews

[أشرف فقيه · Rating 3 out of 5]

قبل ستين عامًا، حدد المفكّر وكاتب الخيال العلمي إسحق آزِموﭪ ثلاثة قوانين تحكم العلاقة بين الآلة الذكية وأسيادها من البشر:
1- لا يجوز لآليّ إيذاء بشريّ أو السكوت عما قد يسببه من أذًى له.
2- يجب على الآليّ إطاعة أوامر البشر إلا لو تعارضت مع القانون الأول.
3- ينبغي للآليّ المحافظة على بقائه الشخصي ما لم يتعارض ذلك مع القانونين الأول والثاني.
ومن المدهش أن تلك القوانين الثلاثة قد ترسخت في الوعي الجمعي لأجيال من الناس، حتى أولئك الذين لا يعرفون من يكون آزِموﭪ. بل إنها توجّه اليوم طبيعة علاقتنا المُتخيلة مع الآلات الذكية التي صارت جزءًا من واقعنا ومستقبلنا، بكل ما يحمله ذلك من مخاوف ومجاهيل.
لكن فرانك ﭘـاسكوالي له رأي آخرفي هذا الكتاب. فهو يجادل بأن تلك القوانين قد وُضعت في زمن سحيق، قبل أن نستوعب شمولية تطبيقات الذكاء الاصطناعي وعمق تداخلها مع شؤوننا. ثم إنها قوانين موجّهة للروبوتات، وكأننا نخاطب من خلالها هذه الكائنات الاصطناعية لنجبرها -قانونيًّا- على إطاعتنا وعدم أذيتنا. لكن الروبوتات في النهاية مصنوعات بشرية، فالبشر هم الذين برمجوا الروبوت ليأخذ وظيفتهم المستقبلية. أليس ذلك نوع من «"الأذية»" التي أوقعها الإنسان بابن جنسه بما يتعارض مع القانون الأول؟ لمَ نلوم الروبوتات الشريرة إذن؟

ﭘـاسكوالي هو أستاذ قانون بكلية بروكلِن للحقوق، متخصص في الذكاء الاصطناعي والتعلم الآلي. وهذه الخلفية القانونية تحدد الإطار العام لكتابه، فهو يرى أن لب مشكلتنا الحالية مع الروبوتات الذكية تتمثل في غياب «"المُساءلة الخوارزمية»" والتدابير القانونية للحد من فوضى التقنية. إننا نتخبط في محاولة استشراف مستقبل علاقتنا مع الروبوتات، راسمين أشد السيناريوهات تشاؤمًا، وتاركين في الوقت نفسه الحبل على غاربه للمبرمجين والعسكريين وأصحاب رؤوس الأموال ليضعونا تحت الأمر الواقع ويجبرونا على التعامل مع منتجات أفكارهم ومختبراتهم.
فإذا كانت برمجيات الذكاء الاصطناعي تهدد بالاستيلاء على وظائفنا أو أن تتحول إلى عساكر آلية تراقبنا على مدار الساعة، فإن ذلك راجع إلى غياب منظومة تشريعية تقنن حدود تطبيقاتها. وهنا يقترح ﭘـاسكوالي أربعة قوانين جديدة بديلة لقوانين آزِموﭪ، موجّهة هذه المرّة إلى البشر بصفتهم المطورين الأصليين للذكاء الاصطناعي. إنها قوانين من البشر للبشر وفي سبيل البشر:
القانون الأول: يجب أن تتكامل الأنظمة الروبوتية مع البشر، لا أن تحل محلهم
القانون الثاني: لا ينبغي للأنظمة الروبوتية أن تنتحل الصفة البشرية
القانون الثالث: يجب ألا تعزز الأنظمة الروبوتية سباقات التسلح الصفرية
القانون الرابع: على الأنظمة الروبوتية أن تُفصح عن هوية صانعيها ومالكيها والمستفيدين منها

إذا كانت قوانين آزِموﭪ التي وضعت قبل ستين عام تهدف لمساعدة البشر وتجنيبهم أذى الروبوتات، فإن قوانين ﭘـاسكوالي تهدف لإعطاء كل البشر، من خلال القنوات التشريعية والقانونية، المجال لتقرير الكيفية التي ستتدخل بها الآلة الذكية في حياتهم، بعيداً عن أجندات كبار المطورين وشطحاتهم التجريبية.

[Wendelle]

well-researched, impactful, original book that advances the thesis that future technological developments should be regulated and structured to take the form of intelligence augmentation (IA)-- or technology aids to complement the skills and services of human professionals-- rather than artificial intelligence (AI)-- innovations that supplant human work and manufacture society into poor and huddled, unemployed masses. Each chapter is arranged to tackle a specific sector-- education, military, policing and justice, healthcare, media-- and show how current tech sector aims to replace human work with AI is riddled with irreparable social and ethical harms. These include:
i) misdiagnoses if digital health advice replace medical expertise
ii) failure of vulnerable sectors, such as children and elderly, to acclimate to human social mores and relationships if human and robot carers or teachers become indistinct in their experience. Furthermore, these robot replacements would not have been necessary if society was structured to provide ample time off from work for family care
iii) a culture of ubiquitous surveillance and inhibitive social scoring is a destructive revolutionary turn in policing and enforcement of norms, and is also an undesirable form of repair of current policing problems
iv) the dissolution of traditional journalism after the robotization of newsfeeds and digital media has led to anarchic platforms rife with misinformation and disinformation and the breakdown of the public sphere
v) Big Data-driven social scoring methods that assess our qualification for certain jobs or loans, based on spuriously correlating factors such as our consumption choices, has led to denial of service and systematic erosion of opportunities for people

[MIKE Watkins Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative book that breaks down the inherent danger of relying on AI 100% in various areas.

Relying on AI 100% for court cases prevents individuals from being able to appeal their case successfully in any instance (what one AI decides on a particular issue will match up 100% with any other AI who's programmed the same way).

Relying on AI 100% for war is problematic because AI lacks the ability to distinguish between friend and foe and adjust to the unpredictable circumstances surrounding war itself. Beyond that...if we were to rely exclusively on technology in conflicts we would go to war more often. This is because it would be easier to convince any constraining organizations/groups (UN, American voters, congress) that there would be minimal, if any, human casualties our end.

Relying on AI 100% to educate adolescents in classrooms can result in an invasion of privacy (cameras watching you everywhere), students feeling trapped and pressured in a way they normally wouldn't in the outside world etc.


I could go on but you get the point. The book was very informative and did a good job of breaking down how important it is for us to preempt any potential danger that could arise from further dependence on AI.

but there were quite a few things I didn't like about the book as well.


1. The author proposes a smart solution to an initial problem presented in the book (relying on AI 100% for medical care) which is to utilize IA, which is a form of technology that assists humans rather than take the place/role of humans in the occupational space. The issue is this solution is repeated for about every problem in roughly the same way. It made the book repetitive.


2. The book was boring... like the information in of itself was interesting....but the way it was presented wasn't interesting.


3. It is possible to have too many analogies/ examples no matter how interesting or good they are. It makes it harder to figure out the main point of a particular portion in certain parts of this book.

[Ulrika · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[HD · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book provides a wide-ranging discussion about the implementation of AI in many fields ---healthcare, law and design to name a few.

The premise of the book is: there's danger lurking in the dark of trusting AI to replace human in many areas (No, I'm not talking about Terminator doomsday created by robot kind of thing). The author proposed AI should aid human and make the labor more valuable instead of replacing them (The author gave numerous examples throughout the book but personally, I like the examples in chapter 5 where in the near future human could be judged by some robots in the court). And yes, go read the book if you want to dive deeper into Pasquale's point of view.

The cooperation between the two entity would serve the best interest for human. Human decision making, expertise and wisdom can't be replaced by a mere AI with no consciousness programmed by some programmers.

A well-researched book accompanied by a compelling narrative. But, I do think there are more things to explore about the AI side and not just the human side. The author focused too much on the expertise of human while neglecting the notion that some jobs may be replaced by AI entirely. 3/5 for me.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I'll take rule by AI over rule by well-meaning dictators like the author. There is nothing here except platitudes and griping about unions losing power. Doesn't add anything to the discussion about use of AI.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure if the author is genuine about the honesty and humility of human beings to confine the possibilities of misuse of AI technology or genuinely stupid:

the so called new 4 laws of constraints are totally being broken in every way: political, health, education, war are nowhere being followed...
Level 4 auto self driven are not widely adopted due to erratic human being and desire are bound not to be followed
Drone are widely used nowadays by USA and many countries to be produced effortlessly and economically and being used to bombed the people erratically..
FB, IG, etc are autobots detection and constantly popping unwanted ad and no guidance to deviate people to buy useless products..
Open AI are being used and nowadays no idea what is genuine artistic creation at all...
AI policing and law sectors in the future will have no humane aspects on helping people, because AI does not carry the notion of humility and objectivity at all...
Author also said China and other countries to use AI as social monitoring as tool to confine people...but Britain, USA are using extensively to monitor people of their countries...so as China just goes first..that is all..other countries will follow as long as the developed countries will realize when their economies are in shamble...social unrest will occur..auto AI police will come out because workforce are massively replaced and costs are needed to be reduced to monitor society as awhole...
Everything author said and stated that we need to have 4 laws to confine robots to behave..but disregard the fact that Google, FB are developing DARPA like autobots to confine freedom of speech and FAKE fact check...and people are helpless to express the truth...robots, AI are after all are created by corporations...CONFINE and REGULATE those high tech firms and government...
many elegant words and idealistic statement which are constantly and have already been broken and breaking....

[Eddie Chua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one that keeps me thinking with the suggestion of the new laws to replace that Asimov's Law of Robotics, that many are more familiar with. The new suggested laws are debatable and supported by author to be clearer and less ambiguous towards what constitutes as harm to humans, and make greater push as a tool, not a replacement of human.

To share in short
Suggested New Laws -
Robotic systems and AI should complement professionals, bit replace them.
Robotic systems and AI should not counterfeit humanity
Robotic systems and AI should not intensify zero-sum arms race
Robotic systems and AI must always indicate the identify of their creator(s), controller(s), and owner(s).

Author then described the positive integrated application in the few important industries; healthcare, education, education. Expanding further into tools as automation, HR, news circulation. He does mention the concerns of bad apples, and is a reminder that all robotics are simply tools, till in the hands (and intention of the use). Focus on his intention, it is of the how robotics can increase productivity of the those in different sectors, and not replaced.

Possibility or over positive? Well, we will have to make our own call to this subject.

[GJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

the central thesis is not a revelation for anyone who has been following tech in the social sciences over the past ten years. so you can't characterize this as a book that's a good essay idea fleshed out into a book-length manuscript. it's more of a treasure chest of ideas. this book is packed with bright thinking that doesn't fall into the fatalistic trap of either utopianism or cynicism. this book is much better than those netflix documentaries about the dangers of big tech that leave the audience feeling hopeless. this book incorporates all the most pressing concerns offered by anthropology/sociology/psychology of technology and technology's use by businesses and governments. and helps to reframe these concerns with proactive political (legal and economic) principles for creating a better society with more liberty and equality. even if you're familiar with the central thesis, there's lots here that will inspire new thinking.

[Esteban Mulki · Rating 3 out of 5]

El libro empieza muy bien y poco a poco se va yendo, como diría Florencio Sánchez, barranca abajo (?). Sin ocultar un sesgo ideológico (no tiene por qué), el autor postula sus 4 leyes de entrada en el libro y probablemente esa sea la idea fuerza de toda la publicación. Un análisis detallado por industria describe sus posturas de los aportes valiosos de la IA y los riesgos que presenta en la salud, la educación, la justicia y el periodismo. A medida que el libro avanza la argumentación equilibrada empieza a desmoronarse y un señor rebosante de posturas extremas emerge para apoderarse del final. El espíritu de la intelectualidad progre lo posee y la cantidad de referencias oscuras a artistas varios se multiplica, la pluma se hace más pesada y las ideas más dogmáticas. Un capítulo final que aporta poco y un epílogo que introduce la IA generativa que no supo investigar con detalle dan cierre a un libro necesario que prometía una cosa y terminó siendo otra.

[Yann Roshdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livre assez décevant. Dans la case "source tertiaire" basée sur des articles de journaux en grande partie. Un peu moins bon qu'un livre de Michael J. Sandel. Le gars est clairement de gauche, avec des réflexes progressistes typiques (écologie, féminisme, antiracisme et orange man bad). Sur 8 chapitres, 5 qui sont intéressants : éducation, santé, armes autonomes, médias et le système carcéral. La lecture est intéressante quand le sujet est concret, mais dès qu'on généralise à l'économie ou la philosophie politique, les références sont confuses et bancales. J'imagine que les 4 lois mises de l'avant par Pasquale sont des principes de base utiles à avoir en tête pour penser et théoriser une réelle stratégie sur les IAs et l'automatisation. La thèse centrale étant que Pasquale veut que l'on parle de IA ("intelligent augmentation") au lieu de AI ("artificial intelligence").

[Jay Red · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well I would not recommend this. The reasons are that it's political in favour of democrats. I'm not American and even if I was, the future of robotics can't be set on values that will change over time and tied to any kind of political view, whoever is imposing that.

Secondly this book covers mostly AI, not robotics and the laws are very much buried in the book.

Interesting information and a glimpse into the future decision but hugely influenced by opinions on morality that are quite naive.


Not really a reflection of the cover title, as this is mostly about decision making machines, which clouds the difference between robotics and the software that runs the machine.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely some good ideas, but the phrasing is frequently clunky and academic. The first chapter (the overview of all topics, and the new laws themselves) is definitely worth a read. The rest of the chapters (which go into more depth on each topic) a bit less so. But they are independent, so you can pick and choose which ones to read. My main criticism of the content is that he doesn't propose many solutions; it's mostly "be aware that this could be an issue." That said, if you're looking for an overview of the possible issues (perhaps as a reading assignment), this book could be exactly what you're looking for.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. This book makes you think about the worshipping of new tech, above all artificial intelligence. The AI expert will not find a lot of new information in it, but still, it is an important book for them. Also readable for non-experts. The author uses quite a few difficult English words; I definitely learned some new ones! The last two chapters are written less engagingly than the first six.

[Bisman · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING book! Absolutely loved the author’s insights into why we need to pause and think about AI before crazily implementing it everywhere. There is value to human intelligence and the author does a great job fighting for this stance. Definitely recommend to everyone, including people not in the fields of AI or robotics.

[Josh Lefkow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords

[Nick Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t finish. Too dull for what should be a fascinating topic.

[A. A. Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect book for those who struggle with anxiety or confusion surrounding artificial intelligence!

[Malik Alic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Central work to understand the movement to implement AI in every part of life!