Marrage/sex with robots by 2050?

[bluestarultor]

Okay, just going to throw in my beginning programmer's two cents. Data is easily manipulated. Robots could easily be "born" with a head start on humans because of basic programming. Most likely basic things like speech and body function, but possibly also more complex things like a predefined personality or moral code. Now, on a smaller level, just to start, this may not be a bad idea. The first robots will almost certainly need some of these to begin the learning process. So, say a starting package includes:

- speech
- motor skills/strength limitations
- a basic awareness of human mortality
- a moral code that discourages, but does not necessarily prevent, violence
- emotional functioning geared toward good socialization


These will all help them learn, while hopefully keeping them and those around them safe in the meantime. As they gain more experience, they will be able to "unlock" these settings and choose to modify them or possibly turn them off and let higher processing handle it. Having these basic settings also allows them to bypass what one would consider age. They will not need to crawl first, nor will they need to learn everything from the ground up. This makes for the possibility of perfectly functional adult robots who will start out a bit two-dimensional, but still fit the expectations others will form based on appearance, and will allow them to build from there into more complex individuals.



As for the social aspect of things, Khael, I think people are people. I don't care if they're humans, robots, hominid animals, puddles of goo, or Bert McFubb, that guy in accounting with the digestive disorder.*

People deserve rights, and deserve to be treated rightly.



*(Sorry, I had to. If you don't get the reference, you haven't played Superhero League of Hoboken.)

[Zilla]

But the question is, is robots people?

I think it depends on just how sentient and self aware they are. We have "Artificial intelligences" already, but none that are aware of their own existance or anything like that. They still are only capable of responding to outside stimulus, not generating their own.

Once an AI is capable of original thought, I think it has earned its freedom.

[Khael!]

Yes. Original thought, and presence of moral reasoning might be another good indicator. Because it's apparent that they own at chess without understanding social workings.

I wonder if they'll still be any good at it, the sentient bots?

Hmm, I think they'd have to have a fairly ground-up learning approach, but the head start idea seems to encompass everything they'd get from a basic family upbringing. Another good idea would be for some simple monitoring during their starting development phase, so that any mental disorders can be treated before they lead to problems. They'd be easier to treat than people since they don't bleed.

I totally want a robot buddy now. We'd be cool and do whatever it is cool people do!

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by Khael!

I totally want a robot buddy now. We'd be cool and do whatever it is cool people do!

Probably not hang out with robots. Least at this point.

[Khael!]

I guess they'd have to be more like Optimus Prime for the cool factor to be present. Oh well, I can dream.

[EVILNess]

*BLINKS*

Sorry, I just had an image of a pimp keeping a robot prostitute in line. Then having to go to the doctor for a broke hand.

Gotta keep the pimp hand strong ya know.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by Khael!

I guess they'd have to be more like Optimus Prime for the cool factor to be present. Oh well, I can dream.

Transformer-like robots would be entirely possible. They'd require constant maintenance and very durable materials, but the technology is already there in smaller units. I think the best bet would be to start with something similar to the Tesla cars, as they require few moving parts and hold a large charge. If it proves too costly to maintain that kind of electrical charge, there's always nuclear power. They're made of metal anyway, so proper shielding couldn't be that hard, provided it's somewhere not likely to get damaged in a crash or has enough added armor for it to be safe in one. The best part is that it could be handled by other robots, negating the worry about humans getting radiation poisoning when it comes to refueling.

Sadly, I don't see car makers doing robots anytime soon, as cars in America are designed for planned obsolescence. I also see them suing the crap out of anyone who tries to muscle in on the market to do so under unfair competition laws.

[Ryong]

Clearly, transformers from the animation? Not so completely impossible. From the live-action movie? No. Just no.

Back to the robot subject... I believe we're still quite a few years to go before all that level of AI. Oh sure, technology makes progress in a daily basis, but a robot that thinks for itself is complicated. There's also another thing. AI, at least so far, is complete logic thought. Human thought isn't only logic, far from it, actually. I am aware off the level of computers today, but robot thought is FAR. And, not to say anything but, about the flying car? Germany was trying out "flying machines" ( think of a segway that uses a big fan to fly instead of moving around with wheels ) to use during WW2 almost a century ago, but they gave up because cars were better.

[Zilla]

It's almost a decade into the new millenium, where's my flying car?!

[BlackMageGirl!]

Originally Posted by Zilla

It's almost a decade into the new millenium, where's my flying car?!

You gotta trade your left foot first.