Sta.sh
May 16, 2012 by $techgnoticOn March 1, 2012 the Nevada DMV issued the first license for a “Google Driverless Car.” The idea behind this innovation is that one day soon new technology will drive cars safer and more skillfully than humans, thus saving lives and billions of dollars in car crashes. How well this idea catches on is a bit questionable, given the powerful “romance” of driving one’s car, but it’s certainly an indicator of things to come in the daily intersection of human and artificial intelligence and mobility. There have always been those who have dreamed of stepping into a mechanical exo-skeletal-type “suit” and letting the engineering do the work, instantly increasing limited human speed, strength, endurance and accuracy.
Mech-suits like the ones that have become standard fare in sci-fi films and videogames may be getting closer to becoming a practical reality more than you might think. Already, tech innovations for leg braces helping people walk, back supports for the crippled and other futuristic light-weight prostheses have been developed as spin-off benefits of Honda’s work in building their robot “Asimo.”
Asimo is more than just a cool tribute to Isaac Asimov (the sci-fi writer who first “imagined” robot androids indistinguishable from humans in stories like “I, Robot”) – he (she?) walks and moves independently, utilizing a rudimentary “artificial intelligence.” Asimo may not be capable at this point of doing much more than carrying out a human master’s commands with programmed responses and actions, but this is definitely the very real beginning of a future portending some very fascinating, and possibly scary, questions...
At what point will our robots’ “artificial” (programmed) intelligence become all too real, arming them with “free will?”
Prometheus was punished for all eternity by the gods for giving the gift of fire to us mortals. Will we mortals be inadvertently hastening our own obsolescence and overthrow by giving the gift of “true A.I.” to the powerful machines we’ve built with our own hands?
Maybe we’ll keep innovating and strengthening our mighty mech-suits. Then if our robots, having attained free will via true A.I., choose to rebel against us, we will be ready to don our own armor for the final Battle Royale. And so it will be that the robots who have become virtually humans will fight it out with the future humans capable of transforming into virtual robots for dominion over all that’s left of “civilization.” (Or maybe by then Humans and Androids will have sufficiently evolved their intelligences to be able to live together peacefully as extensions of and helpers to one another.)
And as a non driver of so many years, I'd love a driverless car too.
Lynne
2: To be honest, I wouldn't trust a robot that much yet, maybe my opinion on that will change and someday I would have a robot driving my car without me doing anything, but honestly, I would prefer driving myself and having more security inside of the car like the car waking me up if I fall asleep in front of the wheel, keeping me on track if I lose concentration and run into danger of getting on the wrong track or something of that kind. Well, you get the idea. If it is not a robot driving the car manually like a human but an integrated robot doing the work, then maybe. But I'm not certainly sure if I would want that yet.
3: That future is very close. One just has to take a look at the news from one or two years ago where they have shown the japanese nurse robot that can display proper emotions, it still reminded me a lot of Data from Star Trek in behaviour, but its look and the gestures and emotions displayed on the face were quite convincing already.
4: It depends. (You should know that scientists all over the world are working on the creation of artifical flesh for transplantations in surgery the present day and that German scientists were able to create an artifical "brain" computer, that means) If they truly become "human" with a metallic skeleton and still remainings of machinery, but are self-aware, can learn, think, expand their knowledge, if they can learn and feel emotions - I mean real emotions and not simulated emotions that have been programmed - then I think this "caste" of humanoid robots should deserve human rights and be set to equal state with humans (there was a movie where a robot slowly turned into a human and in the end, after being 200 years old or something like that, after dying, he was accepted as such, I'm talking of such humanoid robots, such that can be compared with artifical humans or clones but still have a "robotic source" like parts of an artifical brain/"brain-computer" and the mechanical skeleton).
5: I don't think why not, there shouldn't be anything wrong with it as long as it is such a humanoid robot as I mentioned in my answer to 4. This would mean, that certain organs were recreated the same way as the flesh hull the robot is wearing on its mechanical skeleton. Of course, reproduction were possible then if one could recreate the necessary organs. Talking about the soul aspect, I think that something that is self-aware, can think and learn, definitely possesses a soul, whether it was given to it by human or not doesn't matter. The possibility to think, learn, be self-aware, be able to question things, being able to believe in something greater (religion) or create things (science) and to fantasize is what defines a soul for me. If a humaoid robot will be able to do that, it should have the same rights as a human - that includes marrying too. That's my personal opinion though.
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This is a quite interesting topic in my honest opinion. Especially the medical side of such progress would be really useful for humanity. But then again, unless we don't find an alternative planet to live on so we can expand there (as earth has its limit too), I don't see much hope for humanity. Creating artifical humans would result in overpopulation, imagine scientists would develop your "dream woman" or "dream man" with the looks and character that you love the most, more and more people might demand that and in the end, humanity might be "perfectionized" (if you want to call it this way), but the population would about double... not to mention the generation of "half human kids" (would be still full-fleshed humans but with an artifical mother or father).
There are certain people who like "fantasy-people", like elves... and now imagine what would happen, if they would just ask the scientists to create such a partner for them, if the money was right, I'm sure they would do that. Wouldn't that be a bit weird? Having more than just the "original human race" walking around on earth? Of course we probably won't get to see this, but still.. That sounds quite weird if you think about it. One would probably have to tolerate the wishes of the people, however, that doesn't mean one would have to like them himself/herself.
I think that's all I can think of about this topic for now. That topic is truly amazing as I'm really interested in it.
Definately a domestic robot. I would save so much time, i could spend more hours working or with family if I didn't have to do laundry, clean, do dishes, dust, etc...
2. Would you want a “driverless car” to drive you safely to all your destinations, freeing you to sleep or read this article or simply sight-see during the journey? Or do you think you’d prefer the visceral experience, always, of hands-on-the-wheel driving?
It would be nice to have the option if you wanted it. But I do love to drive. Having a self-driving car would be awesome on road trips and coming home in traffic hour. haha
3. Can you envision a future in which robots (androids) become so sophisticated that they become absolutely indistinguishable from humans?
Yes, its possible. Im shocked at the leaps in robotics we have already made. The Nao robot blows my mind, I can't believe human beings are smart enough to create a humanoid robot! So cool.
4. If a robot is in every way as sentient (self-aware), intelligent and emotionally wired as a human, is ownership of such a “machine” possible? Or would this be a form of slavery? Will robots eventually have to be granted the same human rights as people?
That is a tough question. I am not sure what the difference is between a self-aware robot, and a robot who has the algorithms to solve problems and ethical dilemmas. The later, wouldn't necessarily mean the robot is self-aware.
5. At some evolutionary point, will robots possess a “soul” just like a human soul? Will human society evolve quickly enough socially to keep up with a technologically advanced future in which a robot and human can fall in love... and produce android-human children?
Considering the "soul" is just a theory, i don't think I could answer that question.
I dont believe human beings can evolve as fast as technology can. We already can't keep up.
2) I like the thought of safety so self-driving cars would be great, but driving does give you a sort of thrill. So both.
3) I can, but I'd like it more if the robots had something to distinguish them from humans.
4) No, I would think it's a type of slavery unless they wanted to be that way.
5) No I don't think so, but hey...some people said we would never go to the moon.
"More human then human" could be the motto, and if that would come to be the situation how could humans interve in a situation not adequate for human standards?
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