"Alive Enough"

 The second chapter of "Alone Together" explores concepts such a robotic pets like Furbys or robotic dogs. If these toys are to evoke emotional responses from children, and appear to need care and affection, then are they essentially “alive”?  Whether the child is acting as teacher or a playmate to his/her Furby, he/she becomes attached to the robot to the point where if it dies, it loses all appeal, despite being able to be reset.  

However, this emotional and psychological response does not just apply to children. She conducted an experiment where the participants would hold the Furby upside down for as long as they wanted.  Even though the Furby has no emotions and is not living, most people could not hold the Furby upside down for very long before their emotions caused them to turn it back over.  If robots such as Furbys can already make us feel for them, it seems as though we are only waiting for the day when robots become better companions and confidants than real people. Will people start to rely more on computer generated “perfect” responses than the actual experience of other people, despite the potential for flaws and biases? And if so, is that bad?