Robotics goes into life

Robotics is no longer an illusion of the future. It has entered our daily lives. But in this area, we lack the corresponding laws and regulations. UAVs, for example, are now managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but many believe that this is completely beyond the power; for example, robotic surgery, many lawsuits have shown that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing On the other hand, it is far from enough. For example, “autopilot”, Nevada is the first state in the United States to pass the law of driverless cars. With the development of technology, it has to abolish the old definition of “autopilot”. Re-enter the next new definition.

What is the best way to integrate robotic innovation into today's society? We still cannot be very sure now. Therefore, the United States needs to establish a new federal agency to work out the best strategy.

In the past, many important technological innovations have prompted the government to establish new federal agencies. The train is an example. The same is true for radio, which gave birth to the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) and later to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Although the Internet has not spawned new federal agencies, it has also created two regulatory agencies that supervise its unique architecture. For robotics, the government continues to set up a new agency that is responsible for robotics.

In addition to the issues mentioned above, there are still many issues relating to robotics: For example, the FCC spent more than 10 years trying to understand one thing. Is it safe for the public to use efficient artificial intelligence radios that can change the frequency and power of broadcasting? The SEC has been paying close attention to the high-speed trading algorithm - of course you can call it "robots of the market," which a few years ago This has brought a temporary blow to the stock market, but so far, the SEC still does not know how to deal with them; also, for example, the US Congress has asked the Department of Transportation (DOT) to confirm whether a software failure will lead to a sudden acceleration of some Toyota vehicles. "The Department of Transportation had to ask NASA for help. Occasionally an emergency job, NASA can help solve, if this problem is more, it will affect the normal work of NASA.

A large part of the problem with robotics technology is that the government lacks experience in this area and the management methods are very fragmented. There is no way to accumulate expertise quickly; in addition, various US government agencies, state governments, courts, and many other organizations have failed to do so. Collaboration on this issue has also failed to see its common ground in the complex and diverse technical issues.

The establishment of the "Federal Robotics Commission" in the United States will greatly help solve these problems. However, it should be stated that the responsibility of the committee is not to make laws and regulations for robotics experts and other related parties to comply with. The best role of the committee is to provide support and advice in an orderly manner.

In the autumn of 2014, I wrote a white paper entitled "The Case for a Federal Robotics Commission" for the Brookings Institution, which explains how this institution works. Roughly speaking, the Federal Robotics Commission can coordinate the basic research on robotics to solve the technical challenges in today's robotics field. The committee can also advise other federal government agencies, such as advice on providing driverless cars for DOTs, advice on high-frequency trading for the SEC, advice on FDA's provision of robotic medical equipment, and providing the FCC with “recognition”. "Feeding radio" recommendations for the FAA on the issue of drones to the Federal Aviation Administration. In the face of legislators and courts, this robotic institution can also play a similar advisory role. In addition, the committee can also convene stakeholders from the industrial, government, academia and non-governmental organizations to discuss the impact of robotics and artificial intelligence on society.

Nowadays, it is difficult for the government to employ engineering professionals outside of academia and industry. Such a federated robotic institution can precisely attract technical experts who are unwilling to work for the government in other institutions. In fact, the U.S. government has been consciously recruiting the best and brightest employees in the past, so DOT can find the people they need in NASA in the face of technical challenges.

In terms of robotic matters, government agencies in Japan and Europe have played a very central role. For example, the European Union has appointed a team of experts to work out a comprehensive set of legal and policy guidelines. In fact, the U.S. government should do the same. If we do not design an appropriate legal and policy framework for robotics now, then this technology is very likely to be the first innovative technology that the United States has failed to lead the world since the steam engine era.