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. 2022;27(2):311-325.
doi: 10.1007/s10699-021-09796-z. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

Man is a "Rope" Stretched Between Virosphere and Humanoid Robots: On the Urgent Need of an Ethical Code for Ecosystem Survival

Luigi F Agnati  1   2 , Deanna Anderlini  3 , Diego Guidolin  4 , Manuela Marcoli  5 , Guido Maura  5
Affiliations

Man is a "Rope" Stretched Between Virosphere and Humanoid Robots: On the Urgent Need of an Ethical Code for Ecosystem Survival

Luigi F Agnati et al. Found Sci. 2022.

Abstract

In this paper we compare the strategies applied by two successful biological components of the ecosystem, the viruses and the human beings, to interact with the environment. Viruses have had and still exert deep and vast actions on the ecosystem especially at the genome level of most of its biotic components. We discuss on the importance of the human being as contraptions maker in particular of robots, hence of machines capable of automatically carrying out complex series of actions. Beside the relevance of designing and assembling these contraptions, it is of basic importance the goal for which they are assembled and future scenarios of their possible impact on the ecosystem. We can't procrastinate the development and implementation of a highly inspired and stringent "ethical code" for human beings and humanoid robots because it will be a crucial aspect for the wellbeing of the mankind and of the entire ecosystem.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic representation of the evolutionary course from the virosphere to the humanoid robots via the human beings. The virosphere occupies the main space of the ecosystem and viruses have several survival niches in it. The human beings have multiple possibilities of interactions with viruses such as symbiotic, competitive or indifferent coexistence. In the case of competition, it has been introduced the “Red Queen Theory” to describe the dynamic equilibrium that may be reached (Bonachela et al., , Van Valen, 1974)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
On the left: Schematic representation of the progress of robots that is mainly triggered by a vicious circle between “offer vs demand” since the human beings often are moved by an unexhausted search of “empty and ephemeral pleasures” that increases the demand of superfluous consumer goods. Such insatiable request to satisfy unnecessary needs is made possible by a selfish ethical code. On the right: Schematic representation of the desired emergence of “utopic” human beings governed by an altruistic ethical code
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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