Robosexuality

Metal on skin

So last night I was watching a fascinating show on the incredible advances that are being made in the robotics field, and it got me thinking about science fiction and robot-human relations. It both amused and bothered me that they were presenting all these technologies and scenarios and not even mentioning the implications that will be presented (they said “robots can do chores humans dislike” and I was thinking, “but what if the robots don’t like these chores either, resent us, and wish to rebel?”)

I read earlier today that the main thing developers think we have on the robots (and maybe always will?) is that they have no free will, and will not be installed with such.

Honda has ASIMO, which it calls “The World’s Most Advanced Humanoid Robot” (on the show there were many examples of this type of technology and its current/future applications).

Ray Kurzweil thinks what he calls “the Singularity” (the point when humans transcend biology) will occur soon, and its arrival will herald all manner of strange new considerations for humanity.

I just read at Accelerating Future (among many other insightful posts) that since November, there has been work in Korea to draft a Robot Ethics Charter.

I am also curious to read Daniel Wilson’s How To Survive a Robot Uprising (Tips on Defending Yourself During the Upcoming Rebellion (a funny book on a serious topic). Because in movies such as I, Robot this topic is explored. Even though Hollywood is much different from reality, our science fiction has always been a good forum for examining concepts, no matter how outlandish they may seem at the time.

Robotics and the future of artificial intelligence is going to have a huge impact on humanity, and we have to start thinking about these issues now, before they happen.