Blog Assignment #1

The topic of my research paper is Portraying Robots in Film.  I will be using the film I Robot to discuss the possibilities of life with robots and how much truth is in the film.  My thesis statement is: Based on several popular and scholarly sources, I will argue that the promise of robot technology outweighs its possible dangers as portrayed in the film I, Robot.

One of the articles I will be using is entitled Robots and Robotics by Robert Sparrow.  I found this source using the Gale Virtual Reference Library.  The thesis of this article was  "The ethical, political, and legal issues surrounding robots can be roughly grouped into two categories: those that are raised by existing technologies and a more speculative set that would arise if genuinely ‘‘intelligent’’ or conscious robots were to become a reality" (Sparrow 1655).  This article provides information about the pros and cons of robots. Athough the author doesn't make a point to agree or disagree with the pros and cons of robots, he does offer more reasons of why robots pose a threat.  I chose this particular source because it gives so many interesting reasons of why robots pose a threat.  Out of all of the other articles, this particular one gives creative perspectives on robots.  This source fits my research paper topic because it discusses the promises and perils of robot technology.

The second article that I will be using is Robots that talk and listen by Elaine Williams. I found this article using the database LexisNexis.  I really like this article because she gave an argument and stuck with is throughout the entire article. She says "In reality, robots are blind, deaf and rather dumb -- capable of doing relatively simple tasks which have to be programmed into the machines' memories" (Williams 53).  Her main argument was that robots are pointless because humans have to create them to make them smart.  This perpective adds a different perspective than what I have and therefore adds a different point of view for my paper.  I choose this source because the author seems to feel very strongly about her argument.  

  

Sparrow, Robert. "Robots and Robotics." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl                 

Mitcham. Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 1654-1656. Gale Virtual Reference

Library. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

The article, "Robots and Robotics" by Robert Sparrow is an encyclopedia article.  The article not only looks at one argument about robots but it looks at several.  The article also discusses the different areas of life that robots are being used.

Williams, Elaine. "Robots that talk and listen." Financial Times Survey 18 January 1982: XVII.LexisNexis

               Academic. Web. 20 March 2014.

The article "Robots that talk and listen" by Elaine Williams is a newspaper article.  It is of some value for my research paper because she gives an argument.