Robots will only be a danger when used for malign ends The big issue

Peter Donnelly asks: "Why rage against machines when we could be friends?" Unfortunately, he neglects to mention the way the technology can be exploited to the detriment of individuals and communities. We(???) gave a similar upbeat prediction of the benefits information technology could provide when it first appeared some decades ago and, indeed, continue to do so. Much of this is justified – information technology has transformed our capabilities and in doing so has been of huge benefit to mankind in many domains. But some of that capability has been exploited by our dark side, ranging from pornography to criminal activities, fraud, trolling and hacking, taking in controversial surveillance and threats to privacy. Much of the current discussion in information technology communities is devoted to ways of fighting the dark side and organisations increasingly deploy more of their resources to fighting off or repairing the damage from the "bad guys".