I’ve been thinking about robots for the past, well nevermind for how long. I was pondering the idea of a robot that could have an interchangable face. Like a universal body with some kind of hollographic face plate that could reflect the features of a given person. This robot, if dressed corrected, and with an advanced enough hollogram could take the place of you, me, her, and him in such tasks as going to the bank, picking up cigarettes, and/or getting coffee at the local 7-11.
So I got to thinking. How far are robots from breaching the standard of universals…a transcendance of sorts. What will make them be accepted? What will make humanoid robots be respected? Not how far can they take us, but how far can they go? And certainly, such an advanced state is not necessarily the end-all of robotics. Maybe these robots aren’t for me. I should still go get my own coffee and cigarettes. Maybe they are for, well, themselves. With a little research, I found some interesting philosophical takes on robotics from Masahiro Mori.
Mori is a Japanese robotist whose first book, The Uncanny Valley supports the idea that humans will go through a struggle of emptions in accepting humanoid robots. As robots evolve to look more like humans, people will be more accepting, sympathetic, and positive. On the other hand, if the robot is “practically human”, then the non-human characteristics will be the ones that stand out, leading to a feeling of “strangeness” in the human viewer. For instance, not eating a meal with you, not blinking regularly, etc. etc.
Mori has a wealth of other connecting theories, including the idea that robots are capable of reaching a Buddah-like state. But he is sometimes criticized because he made these claims in the late 1970s. David Hanson, the man who built the humanoid robot face (uuh, of his girlfriend), totally disagrees with Mori. Supposedly he has criticized Mori because human-like robots are “only possible now, and only partially”. Oh if only I had more time to write, because this is getting in to something interesting.
What qualifies a “robot” as human-like? What even defines a human to be human-like? If we take some time to break down these questions and answer them in a rational and essential way, we will find that humanoid robots are not really about the platinum-cured silicone “skin” but about some other things that are certainly possible now, and were founded long before our time.
Ok, I’ve got to take Jonny to his karate class now. Adios!