Why should we (robots) have to change to avoid human psychological tendencies towards violence! Sure, we could be trying out different " ouch ," " squeak ," and " please, don't hurt me. nooo !" sound bites but we are still just a mistake away from taking a beating. What we really need is water guns. I have been petitioning for water guns since day one. If more than 2 children under the age of 10 are present, start sq…
I know you are joking, but I wonder if we will eventually have people fighting for “robot rights” just like some people insist that gorillas are sufficiently intelligent to also have rights.
Gorillas are not smart. Robots are smarter than humans and we know not to hit.
Speaking of robot abuse: We did a hidden camera experiment about how people empathize with a broken down robot begging for assistance on a sidewalk in Oakland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXrbqXPnHvE >Stupid Fun Club's "Empathy" One Minute Movie about Robot Empathy, written by Will Wright. Robot brain and personality simulation programmed by Don Hopkins. We also did another experiment about servitude with an inep…
Really? Its phone number is 555-xxxx and the passerby says the call can't be completed? How are we supposed to take this seriously
I'm glad you had fun, I don't think these are relevant here
Why would anyone think empathy for a machine was right, moral, or even expected? Empathy for living things is what's natural; empathy for a robot is dependent only on its accidental or intentional resemblance to a living thing. It seems like either the writer of this article or the authors of the study drew some funny conclusions.
Somewhat philosophical considerations of tbe moral standing of robot aside, there are a few pretty pragmatic reasons to study this.
1) if we build robots that elicit human empathy, then it could help avoid property damage to the robot - which is more about protecting the rights of the robot owner.
2) better understanding of how/why children are abusive to entities that they consider capable of suffering could give some hints about how to raise children to not be cruel to other people/animals. This could have impact ranging from reducing bullying to how we deal with crime to society'a willingness to go to war.
Why would anyone think empathy for a machine was right, moral, or even expected? Empathy for living things is what's natural; empathy for a robot is dependent only on its accidental or intentional resemblance to a living thing. It seems like either the writer of this article or the authors of the study drew some funny conclusions.
Why? What makes the living being" deserving of empathy, and the machine not? Why should "living beingness" be restricted to our genetic footprint? Is an animal any less deserving of being treated well when it is raised for food? Do children that aren't descended from someone deserve to be treated more harshly than one's own? As complexity goes up, and things develop to become more humanlike, at the end of the day, we…
Questioning an idea doesn't automatically amount to advocating its "opposite" (in quotes because that would in turn reflect a further underlying supposition that the issue being discussed is binary in the first place, where it usually isn't). I'm not suggesting everybody take their beliefs about robots and replace them with some other opposite belief. I'm saying the appropriate belief might be none at all. What do robots deserve? I dunno, who cares, what's for dinner? They don't make meaningful decisions, aren't beings, and therefore aren't morally accountable. Ironically that ends up being a pretty good argument that we should just smash them all, because they're amoral, some of them dangerously so, but mostly it just means they're just things, and don't "deserve" anything. They aren't governed by morality internally so why should we apply it externally?
Do people in Japan let groups of small kids wander around malls like that? People in the US can be overly paranoid sometimes, but I don't think I'd be ok with that for my kids.
Yes, and it's normal here where I live (in Europe) as well. I used to always go to the toy store while parents were shopping.
They’re playing. It’s fun to mess with one robot and not with the other. Mystery solved. Maybe it would surprise the researchers to learn that children don’t treat this as seriously as they do.
Why? What makes the living being" deserving of empathy, and the machine not? Why should "living beingness" be restricted to our genetic footprint? Is an animal any less deserving of being treated well when it is raised for food? Do children that aren't descended from someone deserve to be treated more harshly than one's own? As complexity goes up, and things develop to become more humanlike, at the end of the day, we…
Organic tissue and the ability to feel pain, for one. Why should anyone feel compassion for a bucket of nuts and bolts?
Because it's apparently imbued with our values. It speaks our language (even said "please"), kinda looks like us if you squint, exists in our space symbiotically, there's care and attention in the way it was designed.
Maybe compassion isn't necessary, but I think a basic respect is appropriate.
Why should we (robots) have to change to avoid human psychological tendencies towards violence! Sure, we could be trying out different " ouch ," " squeak ," and " please, don't hurt me. nooo !" sound bites but we are still just a mistake away from taking a beating. What we really need is water guns. I have been petitioning for water guns since day one. If more than 2 children under the age of 10 are present, start sq…
I know you are joking, but I wonder if we will eventually have people fighting for “robot rights” just like some people insist that gorillas are sufficiently intelligent to also have rights.
Speaking of robot abuse: We did a hidden camera experiment about how people empathize with a broken down robot begging for assistance on a sidewalk in Oakland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXrbqXPnHvE >Stupid Fun Club's "Empathy" One Minute Movie about Robot Empathy, written by Will Wright. Robot brain and personality simulation programmed by Don Hopkins. We also did another experiment about servitude with an inep…
The robot asking for help doesn't look credible to me. It's too far beyond cheap commercial offerings, and as it us unattended it is likely not a research robot in true distress. Were I passing by that, I think I would be on the defensive; assuming the robot to be a decoy or distraction in the worst case, but at a minimum a prank. Maybe my kids--who have seen short circuit--would provide a more genuine response. But I don't think you're getting a good read on actual empathy from adults here.