QUESTION TWO [40] Read the following article and answer the questions that follow Elon Musks Tesla Bot raises serious concerns but probably not the ones you think By Andrew Maynard Elon Musk announced a humanoid robot designed to help with those repetitive, boring tasks people hate doing. Musk suggested it could run to the grocery store for you, but presumably it would handle any number of tasks involving manual labour. Predictably, social media filled with references to a string of dystopian sci-fi movies about robots where everything goes horribly wrong. Page 4 of 5 As troubling as the robot futures in movies like I, Robot, The Terminator and others are, its the underlying technologies of real humanoid robots and the intent behind them that should be cause for concern. Musks robot is being developed by Tesla. Its a seeming departure from the companys car-making business, until you consider that Tesla isnt a typical automotive manufacturer. The so-called Tesla Bot is a concept for a sleek, 125-pound humanlike robot that will incorporate Teslas automotive artificial intelligence and autopilot technologies to plan and follow routes, navigate traffic in this case, pedestrians and avoid obstacles. Dystopian sci-fi overtones aside, the plan makes sense, albeit within Musks business strategy. The built environment is made by humans, for humans. And as Musk argued at the Tesla Bots announcement, successful advanced technologies are going to have to learn to navigate it in the same ways people do. Yet Teslas cars and robots are merely the visible products of a much broader plan aimed at creating a future where advanced technologies liberate humans from our biological roots by blending biology and technology. As a researcher who studies the ethical and socially responsible development and use of emerging technologies, I find that this plan raises concerns that transcend speculative sci-fi fears of super-smart robots. A man with big plans Self-driving cars, interplanetary rockets and brain-machine interfaces are steps toward the future Musk envisions where technology is humanitys saviour. In this future, energy will be cheap, abundant and sustainable; people will work in harmony with intelligent machines and even merge with them; and humans will become an interplanetary species. Its a future that, judging by Musks various endeavours, will be built on a set of underlying interconnected technologies that include sensors, actuators, energy and data infrastructures, systems integration and substantial advances in computer power. Together, these make a formidable toolbox for creating transformative technologies. Musk imagines humans ultimately transcending our evolutionary heritage through technologies that are beyond-human, or super human. But before technology can become superhuman, it first needs to be human or at least be designed to thrive in a human-designed world. This make-tech-more-human approach to innovation is whats underpinning the technologies in Teslas cars, including the extensive use of optical cameras. These, when connected to an AI Page 5 of 5 brain, are intended to help the vehicles autonomously navigate road systems that are, in Musks words, designed for biological neural nets with optical imagers in other words, people. In Musks telling, its a small step from human-inspired robots on wheels to humanlike robots on legs. Easier said than done Teslas full self-driving technology, which includes the dubiously named Autopilot, is a starting point for the developers of the Tesla Bot. Impressive as this technology is, its proving to be less than fully reliable. Crashes and fatalities associated with Teslas Autopilot mode the latest having to do with the algorithms struggling to recognize parked emergency vehicles are calling into question the wisdom of releasing the tech into the wild so soon. Adapted from: https://theconversation.com/elon-musks-tesla-bot-raises-serious-concerns-but-probably-not-the-ones-you-think-166714

2.2. Tesla is a company that prides itself on producing innovative solutions to problems facing society. These solutions are in the form of products such as the Tesla Bot as well as electric and self-driving cars. Some of Teslas solutions tend to be more costly than its competitors. Assess Teslas broad differentiation strategies and themes. Explain why you think these strategies and themes work or fail for Tesla.