AI

In the opening scene of the movie, when the new idea for a robot is being discussed, there is a bit of a debate about what responsibilities a person would have to a robot that could, in fact, love. If a robot child could be created that could love, should the parents of this robot love it in return? Did they have a responsibility to do so? After all, this robot was to be marketed as a substitute for a child to couples who weren't permitted to have children. Should these couples love their robot child as a parent loves their own children? And if so, did this require that these robots be treated with a greater respect than other robots, since they shared such an intimate relationship with their "parents"? The man who appears to be the head of the rootics company decides the issue saying "Didn't God create Adam to love Him?", implying that humanity had no obligation towards these new robots, or any robots for that matter, since they were created to be servants. It is an interesting arguement, however I do not believe it is valid at all. In fact, I believe that equating man's creation of robots to God's creation of man should produce the opposite answer. It's a perfect portrayal of humanity trying to "play God" and getting it very wrong. While I am reminded of the teaching of the Catholic Church that man was created "to know, love, and serve the Lord," I believe that the assumption that God does not love us in return is completely wrong. It couldn't be further from the truth. The question has been raised in other blog entries of whether or not the robot David could truly love, or if a robot could only ever simulate the effects of love. If the answer is no, which I am inclined to believe, then none of this makes any difference. If it is ever possible, then this question become a very important one. I should point out that I find it ridiculous for anyone to equate any human achievement to that of God's creation of the world and humanity. However, I do believe that this question of humanity's obligation towards its creations is certainly worth consideration.