AI

The A.I. film was incredibly intriguing. The themes about imbibing robots with emotions and well as replacing children with robot children were both somewhat disturbing. It raises the question of whether or not it's our emotions that make us human. The ability to feel pain and experience feelings is how we think, act, and react, as well as how we interpret our experiences. The little boy in the film, although he was definitely mechanical, did feel. It raises many moral implications--especially in regards to where our current technological advancements are headed.

I also found it very intriguing how Spielberg decided to portray the robots and how they interacted with each other. in the film, the robots were, in fact, assisting each other. Joe went so far as to aid the boy in his escape--multiple times! If robots are, indeed, so mechanical, how did they develop the ability to determine when, and when not, to aid a fellow robot. The way in which this movie was filmed, and how the robots were depicted, greatly increased the relate-ability of the audience to the robots as they were more and more human-like as the movie progressed. Would purely "helpful" robots be such a bad thing?

Turkle Readings

     I find it interesting that many of the people Turkle gave robots to were almost ashamed of the way that they behaved. They denied vehemently that the robot was a person or had the qualities of a person. However, once they got past a certain moment, they opened up about their experiences with the robot. Due to the reactions of the robot, they felt as if the robot was actually paying attention to them and responding to what they said. It made them feel as if someone was earnestly interested in what they had to say. Sometimes, they were even more interested in taking to a robot than a person due to the subject of the "conversation." If it had to do with a very private aspect of their lives, they would rather not talk to a person because it could be very embarrassing. However, one thing that I found disturbing was the fact that someone could get lost in a relationship with a robot. When Turkle mentioned the story about the woman and her great-granddaughter,  I thought that robots could definitely be harmful. As soon as the robotic baby started to do anything, the two year old child was neglected. However, when she was asked about it, the woman denied that the robot was anything more than a doll. I find it disturbing that so much more attention can be given to robots while we neglect those around us.

I think A.I. makes a lot of good connections to what we are talking about. The most strinking connection for me was with the lover robots like Joe. One of Turkle's main points is that we are beginning to replace human relationships with robotic ones. While we currently do this with things like My Real Baby and AIBO Turkle warns that we might end up with people have relationships with robots like Joe. David is also like an advanced version of a My Real Baby. I think the movie does a god job of making us think about what Turkle is trying to make us think about: Should we allow ourselves to replace humans and human relationships with robots?

Required Reading

Please see Piero Scaruffi's blog for an excellent overview of the question of technological progress and the "singularity." Here is a brief excerpt on our current favorite topic, robots:

Don't be Fooled by the Robot

Human-looking automata that mimic human behavior have been built since ancient times and some of them could perform sophisticated movements. They were mechanical. Today we have electromechanical sophisticated toys that can do all sort of things. There is a (miniature) toy that looks like a robot riding a bicycle. Technically speaking, the whole toy is the "robot". Philosophically speaking, there is no robot riding a bicycle. The robot-like thing on top of the bicycle is redundant, it's there just for show: you can remove the android and put the same gears in the bicycle seat or in the bicycle pedals and the bike with no passenger would go around and balance itself the exact same way: the thing that rides the bicycle is not the thing on top of the bike (designed to trick the human eye) but the gear that can be anywhere on the bike. The toy is one piece: instead of one robot, you could put ten robots on top of each other, or no robot at all. Any modern toy store has toys that behave like robots doing some amazing thing (amazing for a robot, ordinary for a human). It doesn't require intelligence: just Japanese or Swiss engineering. This bike-riding toy never falls, even when it's not moving. It is designed with a gyroscope to always stand vertical. Or, better, it falls when it runs out of battery. That's very old technology. If that's what we mean by "intelligent machines", then they have been around for a long time. We even have a machine that flies in the sky using that technology (so much for "exponential progress"). Does that toy represent a quantum leap in intelligence? Of course, no. It is remotely controlled by a remote control just like a tv set. It never "learned" how to bike. It was designed to bike. And that's the only thing it can do. Ever. If you want it to do something else, you'll have to add more gears of a different kind, specialized in doing that other thing. Maybe it's possible (using existing technology or even very old mechanical technology) to build radio-controlled automata that have one million different gears to do every single thing that humans do and that all fit in a size comparable to my body's size. Congratulations to the engineer. It would still not be me. And the only thing that is truly amazing in these toys is the miniaturization, not the "intelligence". A human is NOT a toy (yet).

First part of Alone Together

Now that we have completed the first part of Turkle's "Alone Together", I have a vastly different understanding of our growth in technology. I was aware that we, as a society, had made monumental gains in technology, but was not even close to grasping all the things machines were capable of and what us people are trying to get them to be able to do. Personally, it scares me to think that humans are making machines to do things that humans themselves are capable of doing. What does that say about us as a species? How far are we going to allow techonology to grow? What will happen to the jobs that humans once did that will be replaced by machines? This should scare us that the machines being made are so capable of grasping out attention and affection that even the people constructing the machines fall for their "true" existence.

A.I. Film

I enjoyed the film A.I. For the most part. I liked the beginning through when the Mom dropped off the boy in the woods. At this point, it got weird. The beginning was weird as well, but in a different way. The second part of the story was just strange. I think that the whole idea is very far off from where we are today. Robots are one thing, the normal vision you get when you think about them, but to think of a robot looking and acting just like a human child, I think, is far away in the possible future. I can see how, if this happens, it could pull at emotions. Watching the movie, the viewer is put in the mindset that the child is a robot, but yet when the mom leaves him it pulls at the viewer's emotions. If the whole movie was more like the first section of it, then I might be tempted to watch it again. The second part was just weird, those are the only words I have for it. When they had the destroying of robots, and the guy robot going to the hotel room where the dead lady's was, and the lost city toward the end; I could have done without these parts. At the same time, I suppose they all nada meaning in order to end up in the new kind world where it was only robots.

AI Thoughts

After watching this movie, I still feel as if robots could never get to the level of human beings emotionally.  All David wanted to do was be a human but it is impossible to recreate the human species.  If robots did somehow gain emotions one day the world be very different.  Which leads me to the discussion we had in class.  Technology is an amazing asset but we need to know our limits.  We can't create robots because we are too lazy or selfish to take care of others.  We can't simply pass that role on to a seemingly emotionless object.  I think it is incredibly selfish to even think, "Oh, a robot will take care of them!"  Don't get me wrong, I think robots have many positives, but letting them be sole providers is definitely not one.  One of the main experiences of life is learning how to care for others and if we eliminate that from society, I think the repercussions will be great. 

A.I. Reflection

When we watched "A.I." in class, I thought about several things.


First off, I loved the dismal, dystopian feel of the movie, and I thought it was extremely thought provoking. It really contrasted the optimism of the human spirit and its use of technology with true human nature and how it tries to control everything. Not only that, but the juxtaposition of the main character who is a child and his teddy bear while trying to understand the dark, brutal, and authoritarian world around them makes for a very, very interesting take on the future presented within the movie.

This raises the question though: why WOULD people want to have robotic children instead of normal children? Isn't the whole point of a child to raise it and watch it grow into an adult..? Isn't that what the main rewards of it are??

I CAN understand, however, the appeal of robotic toys, robot servants, or sex robots... they replace many aspects of our society that humans would rather have quick, and easy rewards for. I feel like if singularity is going to be achieved, it is going to be through robots that provide services, such as being a servant, being a toy/playmate, or being a romantic/sexual companion.

Overall very interesting movie. I quite enjoyed it.

A.I. Reflections

     I enjoyed this movie. Throughout the movie, I was not thinking, "This can't happen; robots, can't be so real" etc. I suspended my disbelief when watching the movie to try to get the whole effect of what I was watching. I grew up with stories about robots, therefore I always enjoy seeing them. A part of me would love to have robots around, while another part of me would hate it. If robots could so totally mimic humans, how would we be able to easily tell the difference between the two? I would not like being unable to distinguish between humans and robots. However, the distinction between "mecha" and "orga" would be almost indistinguishable. If robots can truly have emotions, can we really not consider them to be people? In the film, the question of responsibility to such machines is raised. I believe that it would be necessary to treat them as we would any other. Otherwise, we would be doing the same as neglecting another human being. Throughout the film, I did not think of David as a robot. Rather, I saw him as a little boy that was unfamiliar with the world. This may because I grew up with cartoons featuring robots, but there is a point where I think that robots and humans are both considered people. Being surrounded by robot characters that were just as real as the humans may have given me skewed views on this matter, but I can't help but think that we would be destroying a part of ourselves if we did not treat robots with feelings as we did other humans.

A.I. Reflection

I think A.I. was an interesting movie that raised several good questions about what the future of technology could look like if we created robots that acted and looked just like human beings. If this were possible, it would indeed create a divide between people who mesh with the mecca and those who do not, fighting for the image of organic humanity. I think this movie is similar to the “My Robot Baby” section of “Robot Stories”. Both mothers have extreme difficulty bonding with the child, and are somewhat frightened by the notion of a robot child. Both mothers end up abandoning the child in order to relieve themselves of a burden. It is interesting that a piece of technology that is supposed to supplement human life ultimately becomes more like a burden.

A.I. not looks at the value of relationships between mother and child, as well as between lovers. In the movie, there are robots created only to be lovers, which takes prostitution to another level. The introduction of this sort of robot detracts from the value of true human relationships, and reduces them down to the sexual output of the robotic partner. I feel like this would change the way humans would interact with each other, just as texting and Facebook have taken the value away from socializing face to face or on the phone.

I think that even if it were possible to create robots that look and act just like humans, it would not create a positive change for society. It would challenge relationships and divide people instead of bringing them closer together or creating deeper relationships.

In this Ethics and Technology class I believe that it was a great decision to show this movie during class. I strongly feel that it shows a true value of how a robot would be if this movie were to be played out in life as we know it. The whole encounter with a real boy and a robot boy was just one of many examples of why robots such as David have different emotions than humans and could never be treated equally. The real brother begins to make fun of David and say things that would portray that David wasn't real. He was not only treated "Fake" by his brother, but he was treated different by his parents too. I liked the movie, but I felt as if this will never happen in my lifetime. The robot in the movie can actually love and feel every emotion just like a human and I just don't believe that that is a possibility in the near future. Also, if you go back to the movie and think about David you realize that even though he has emotions and feelings, he doesn't have the same thinking process that humans did, becauase he only knew what he learned from memories. I don't think that it will ever be possible to replace a person with a robot, but I did enjoy this science fiction movie.

A.I Reflection

I really liked the movie but i feel that anything along that line is a far way off. I don't think that in my life time or even my children's life time will we see a robot that can feel and love. I think that is a far way off when the world has so many other issues and projects that have to develop before the world of robotics takes over. i think that A.I is a great movie and credit to cinema but it is all just a story with very creative futuristic fiction.

A.I. Reflection

One thing about A.I. that stuck with me was the way the children treated David. Turkle discusses in her book how children act more violently towards toys and robots. Children are already confused by robots and the line between real and simulations of real. I think that if robots like David were real it would confuse children even more. If children were willing to be cruel to a simulation would that cruelty transfer to a real person? I know the mother in A.I was feeling some confusion about how to view David and feel about him. If adults are confused children are even more vulnerable.

Latest in medical technology!!!

So this is an ethics of technology class and even though I'm not a huge fan of alot of the technological advances that have been made available today, I am however a huge fan and advocate of alot of the new advances made in medical technology. Yet again I was reading this really interesting and inspirational article about a new microchip that they can implant in the brain that will allow people who have lost use in one or both arms control robotic arms just by using their brains!

Jan scheuermann has no use of her arms and is unable to feed herself, but she has gotten better at picking up a chocolate bar with her robotic arm :) She's become the first to demonstrate that people with a long history of quadriplegia can successfully manipulate a mind-controlled robot arm with seven axes of movement. Earlier experiments had shown that robot arms work with brain implants. This was a huge accomplishment for Jan because this was the first time in 9 years that she had been able to pick up any objects. The research developement that links Jan to her prosthetic arm is known as Brain Computer Interface or BCI for short. It took Jan less than a year to be able to pick up a chocolate bar with the arm, after which she declared, "One small nibble for a woman, one giant bite for BCI."




This is a spectacular leap toward greater function and independence for people who are unable to move their own arms," senior investigator Andrew Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh's Pitt School of Medicine said in a release. "This technology, which interprets brain signals to guide a robot arm, has enormous potential that we are continuing to explore. Our study has shown us that it is technically feasible to restore ability; the participants have told us that BCI gives them hope for the future."
Jan's brain was implanted with two quarter-inch square electrode grids. They have 96 tiny contact points for brain areas that control right arm and hand movement.
The electrodes pick up neurons firing to activate arm movement. Within a week of surgery, she could reach in and out, left and right, and up and down with her robot arm.




"This is the ride of my life," Jan was quoted as saying. "This is the roller coaster. This is skydiving. It's just fabulous, and I'm enjoying every second of it."



If you would like to see a video of jan using her robotic arm to get a better grasp on what this new technology really offers to disabled peoples like her, i've pasted the url below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVhJuwfNTC4&feature=player_embedded

A.I. Reflection

Something that has really stuck with me from the film is when David slept for 2,000 years.  David slept through the water's freezing and thawing processes, and he awoke to wanting the same thing as if the 2,000 years between was just a simple nap.  Once these objects are created, for example a robot that is equally smart to a human, or possibly smarter; these objects are mechanical, and can possibly create danger unknowingly, moreover when he cut his mother's hair and felt no remorse.  Robots have their own place in this world, and their space is expanding while the human race is shrinking.

This movie was very interesting, but it seemed to portray a negative image to me. The robot thought it was a human, and robots should know they are robots in my opinion. I like to believe that I will be able to tell the difference between humans and robots when robots enter human society, and this movie showed me that robots will be able to blend in with humans in the future.

A.I. Reflection

I had never seen this movie before so I found this to be an interesting movie. One thing that jumped out at me is that David, the robot, didn't have the emotion or thinking process that people did. He was processed and so caught up on being a real person that he could not realize the effect he was having on the people around him. When Martin told David to cut their mom's hair so that she would love him more and David did it because he could not understand what he was doing was wrong, almost like an immature kid. There was no sense of reasoning to his methods.  However, I do admire David's passion for becoming real and becoming loved by his family. I thought this was interesting in that he was searching for compassion which a lot of real people do in society today.

After seeing this movie and seeing how real David looked and how he interacted, I would not be surprised if our culture moves toward these actions in the future. I personally would not be in favor of such, but I can definitely see our society making these moves.

AI reflection

I had never seen this before so this was definitely an interesting movie. The are many aspects that i can relate to Turkle's book and this jumped out at me right away. The first one is that the robot (David) didn't have the emotion or thinking process that people did. In one instance he tried to kill there real son (Martin) because he was jealous of him that their mom paid more attention to Martin than David. Also, Martin told David to cut their moms hair for some made up reason and David did it without question. Yes, they are kids and kids actually do cut hair, the thinking process was totally different.

I don't think replacing a person with a robot is possible. You become a parent and your job as the parent is too develop a child into an adult guiding them and teaching them as they grow older. A robot can never grow up and its maturity level will probably never change.

A.I. Reflection

Personally, I find it very hard to imagine humans having a sexual, robot companion. Yes, I'm sure we will be able to create robots that can mirror human appearance, reactions, expressions, etc; so I assume it will be possible to become physically and mentally attracted to a robot. But, I feel as if we would not be fully committed to one. I don't believe that all of us could overlook the fact that the robot is not a human. It is a machine. It is hard to imagine having sex with a machine. It would not be the same as having a real human "with" you. So, as of right now, that part of A.I. is too far fetched for me.
The child robot is actually very conceivable, though. It would, clearly, not be the same; but it is possible for a human to become attached to a robot. It would be hard for our minds to separate (the A.I.) robots from humans in a physical or mental way because they are so human-like. Again, I believe that we would not be as attached to a robot as we would be to a human. A world of humans intertwined with robots is just hard to imagine at this point. Maybe my mind will change if robots ever become common, household items.

Alive or not...

My little sister owns a Furbie, so I fully understand how small children could look at these objects and think "alive or real". They don't see these toys or objects as non living, they learn to believe that these objects have feeling and need to be taken care of or they may "die". Children quicky become attached to their toys and just from seeing my little sister react to her Furbie she says things like I need to feed her or else she will get evil and mad at me. If you read the sentence I just typed you will quickly see all the problems with what children are saying... They address gender, feelings, personality and or characteristics of these toys. Technology is beginning to develop objects and Turkle is right when she says that these toys are becoming more when children can actually feel an emotional attachment.

A.I. reflection

A.I. is an interesting movie to say the least. One of my biggest questions is will humanity really take that course of life. in the future will we truly use robots for employees, sex partners, and even children. I definitely see it possible for us to create such beings in the not to far long future. Think it was just 30 years ago that the cell phone was created. Now compare that "state of the art technology" to the technology we have today. We already have a glimpse of everyday robot help today. Think of Siri; this robot technology can answer millions of questions in an instance. So 30 years from now where will technology be? Will the sudden incline in technological advancements plateau or will we reach even high heights. To be honest we haven't really been very good at predicting what the future will be like for example flying cars in the new millennium. 50 years ago we had no clue where we will be today. So how can we possibly guess whether or not we will reach the level of technology demonstrated in A.I in fifty years. Maybe we will get there sooner than fifty years maybe later. It truly is impossible to tell. I believe that we will reach that level of technology. i question the purposes however.
I think that the use of robots as sexual companions is a very realistic thing. Think about the limits of human sexuality in the fifties and compare them to what sexual behavior is acceptable today. Who's to know whether or not that type of behavior will be acceptable in the not to distant future. I do however reject the idea of having a robot child. Love is an emotion that is strictly shared between not only two people, but their souls as well. Now unless someone creates a robot with a soul, I find it highly unlikely for someone to truly love a machine like one would another human being. But if that feat were somehow accomplished, that person would be comparable to God. Since God is thew only one who can create a soul so it is a complete impossibility.