Question: In what way do robots affect the environment ?

Ted Burke answered on 7 Mar 2019:

I had to think about this for a while before answering. One problem with the environment is the amount of mass produced goods we consume. In some ways, robotics have made a lot of that mass production possible, so maybe that has been one of their negative impacts on the environment. Robotics are also used in forestry, so that’s another possibly negative impact. However, new robotic technology may help to clean up the environment. They could allow us to farm in ways that are more ecologically sustainable and less reliant on pesticides. They could also be used to clean up pollution or rubbish in the environment. At the end of the day, it’s not the robots themselves that do the damage – it’s the humans who put them to work. Just like every technology, it’s up to us (the humans) to use it responsibly.