The field of robotics is getting more and more sophisticated. With further advances in technology, there seems to be no limit as to what robots can do. Now, experts say robots may soon be able to read minds and launch war against humans.

Robots Reading Minds

By the year 2030, experts predict that gadgets such as smartphones and tablets may be able to analyze the brain activity of humans to determine what they are thinking.

Such technology will be used initially as a security measure as a kind of "pass thought," wherein the user will think of a particular song or thought the device must recognize before it unlocks itself. Cool.

Duke University professor Nita Farahany says such a security tool may be highly effective, safe and nearly impossible to decode. 

"Beyond two-factor idenitification... is using neural signatures - 'pass thoughts'," says Farahany. She adds that people may use songs and other thoughts then wear an EEG device, which has a neural signature.

Someday, people may walk around wearing EEG devices, sharing their innermost thoughts and brain activities. Mental health diagnoses can even be shared with computers and other gadgets.

Privacy For Thoughts

A main concern raised about pass thoughts is the issue of privacy.

While the technology may sound rad, experts are not 100 percent keen about the idea. In the recently concluded World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, experts noted that such technology may attract hackers.

Not all people who will be able to access the personalized data have good, clean intentions. When this becomes a reality, what are humans left to do in that kind of world?

Robots Vs. Humans

In the future, experts may also develop so-called "killer robots," which will serve as fully autonomous weapons, says Kenneth Roth from the Human Rights Watch.

He warns that the absence of human decision-making in the face of a chaotic battlefield could result in war.

For computer science professor Stuart Russell from the University of California Berkeley, certain situations require sound judgements from humans, not machines. If robots will lead the way, the average life-span of human soldiers may only last for about 10 seconds.

While humans do not want to eliminate technology, they have to be careful, says Roth. Sometimes, there are some advancements better left unopened.

Photo: Ryan Somma | Flickr