1. It is the best of times, it is the worst of times - for robots, that is. Whether today's news marks a cultural high point for our technological offspring or the latest phase of their subjugation depends on your
ethical slant.

2. Firstly, we hear, the triumph of the Huygens probe on the Saturnian moon Titan, following in the footsteps of its predecessors, like Sojourner and Spirit, has sparked anew the decades long debate about whether space exploration is best conducted by humans or robots. "Three wise men" of British science will meet up this week to begin thrashing out a conclusion.

3. Meanwhile, the US army, in a masterstroke that is bound to dispel the perception of them as a sinister occupying force, have decided to deploy a new generation of robot soldiers to fight in Iraq.

4. These droids cost £1m to develop and are capable of firing off 300-350 rounds a minute. They put Craig Charles and his garage-built gladiators, with their weedy-looking axes and flippery-type things firmly in the shade.

5. But, those that seem strongest often suffer the most and what does it portend for our future if we are creating artificial "life forms" just to do our dirty work? What does it say about human beings if we create robots entirely to serve or entertain?

6. Plenty of intellectual energy has been expended upon the damage that humans could suffer from the mischievous or downright malevolent possible tendencies of their creations, going right back to the proto-science fiction novel, Frankenstein.

8. You could say the die was cast for the robot the moment its name was coined, by the Capek brothers some time around 1920. It is derived from the Czech word robota, meaning "serf".

9. But perhaps there is hope for our metallic progeny in the tenderness that they have inspired on the part of some humans. From Metal Mickey to R2-D2, people have warmed to robots, in spite of their often limited conversational skills.

10. It is fair to say that some people love them a little bit too much. And that's where things can get a little bit twisted.