Robots could 'threaten our existence', experts claim

Speaking in a new documentary, experts say machines should be classed as an'invasive species' due to their rapid evolution and increased ability to consciously make decisions. And worryingly, the concerns are not for the long-term, with the experts predicting that the robot-takeover could begin'in the next few years.' The experts' main concern lies around robots developing their own unique understanding of the world, and even developing a consciousness. Owen Holland, Professor of cognitive robotics at the University of Sussex added: 'The whole of our society, our law, our education, is based around consciousness, making conscious decisions, and if we show that actually that's quite trivial and we reproduce it in an afternoon in a lab, then it could make you think "Well, how important is human life? 'Ultimately the rewards will be positive but you have to be very, very careful. Socially it might be disruptive.' The chilling warning comes from experts speaking in Hyper Evolution: Rise of the Robots – a BBC documentary that will air in the UK on Wednesday. Speaking in the documentary, Dr Ben Garrod, an evolutionary biologist at Anglia Ruskin University, said: 'What concerns me is that the impact of robots will be so monumental, they could threaten humanity. 'We've evolved over hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years. 'These things are just bulldozing their way through. At what point have we got to stop? 'In the next few years, physically at least, they will be able to out-compete us in many of the things that we can do. 'But for me, the real problem isn't if they move like us or even look like us. The real issue will come if they start to think like us.' Owen Holland, Professor of Cognitive Robotics at the University of Sussex added: 'The whole of our society, our law, our education, is based around consciousness, making conscious decisions, and if we show that actually that's quite trivial and we reproduce it in an afternoon in a lab, then it could make you think "Well, how important is human life?