Robots (54)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 10 min
- Engadget
- 2021
This article provides an excerpt from a book detailing the “Brooksian Revolution,” a movement in the 1980s pressing the idea that the “intelligence” of AI should start from a foundation of acute awareness of its environment, rather than “typical” indicators of intelligence such as pure logic or problem solving. By principle, a reasoning machine-learning loop that operates off of a one-time perception of its environment is inherently disconnected from its environment.
- Engadget
- 2021
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- 10 min
- Engadget
- 2021
Hitting the Books: The Brooksian revolution that led to rational robots
This article provides an excerpt from a book detailing the “Brooksian Revolution,” a movement in the 1980s pressing the idea that the “intelligence” of AI should start from a foundation of acute awareness of its environment, rather than “typical” indicators of intelligence such as pure logic or problem solving. By principle, a reasoning machine-learning loop that operates off of a one-time perception of its environment is inherently disconnected from its environment.
Why is an environment important to cognition, both that of humans and machines? Will robots ever be able to abstract the world, or model it, in the same way that the human brain can? Are there dangers to robots being strictly “rational” and decoupled from their environments? Are there dangers to robots being too connected to their environments?
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- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 2001
“Gigolo Joe” is an android sex worker in an imagined future in which “Mechas,” or humanoid robots, have risen to prominence after a climate disaster. He performs his duties without hiding the fact that he is an android.
- Kinolab
- 2001
Robots and Sex Work
“Gigolo Joe” is an android sex worker in an imagined future in which “Mechas,” or humanoid robots, have risen to prominence after a climate disaster. He performs his duties without hiding the fact that he is an android.
Could robots eventually replace sex workers? What are the ethical and economic implications of this? How will machines be able to perfect seduction?
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 1968
See HAL Part I for further context. In this narrative, astronauts Dave and Frank begin to suspect that the AI which runs their ship, HAL, is malfunctioning and must be shut down. While they try to hide this conversation from HAL, he becomes aware of their plan anyway and attempts to protect himself so that the Discovery mission in space is not jeopardized. He does so by causing chaos on the ship, leveraging his connections to an internet of things to place the crew in danger. Eventually, Dave proceeds with his plan to shut HAL down, despite HAL’s protestations and desire to stay alive.
- Kinolab
- 1968
HAL Part II: Vengeful AI, Digital Murder, and System Failures
See HAL Part I for further context. In this narrative, astronauts Dave and Frank begin to suspect that the AI which runs their ship, HAL, is malfunctioning and must be shut down. While they try to hide this conversation from HAL, he becomes aware of their plan anyway and attempts to protect himself so that the Discovery mission in space is not jeopardized. He does so by causing chaos on the ship, leveraging his connections to an internet of things to place the crew in danger. Eventually, Dave proceeds with his plan to shut HAL down, despite HAL’s protestations and desire to stay alive.
Can AI have lives of their own which humans should respect? Is it considered “murder” if a human deactivates an AI against their will, even if this “will” to live is programmed by another human? What are the ethical implications of removing the “high brain function” of an AI and leaving just the rote task programming? Is this a form of murder too? How can secrets be kept private from an AI, especially if people fail to understand all the capabilities of the machine?
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- 11 min
- Kinolab
- 1990
Commander Data, an android, uses his technological skills to acquire knowledge to create a new android, his daughter Lal, in his own image without human help or oversight. He then guides Lal through the process of incorporating into the human world through means such as allowing her to choose her own gender and appearance, teaching her about laughter, and warning about human perception of difference. Ultimately, when he is asked to turn his daughter over to Star Fleet, he refuses on the grounds that it is his obligation as Lal’s parent to help her mature and acclimate to society, and captain Picard agrees that Lal is no one’s property but rather Data’s own child.
- Kinolab
- 1990
The Offspring: Robotic Reproduction and Rights to a Parental Role
Commander Data, an android, uses his technological skills to acquire knowledge to create a new android, his daughter Lal, in his own image without human help or oversight. He then guides Lal through the process of incorporating into the human world through means such as allowing her to choose her own gender and appearance, teaching her about laughter, and warning about human perception of difference. Ultimately, when he is asked to turn his daughter over to Star Fleet, he refuses on the grounds that it is his obligation as Lal’s parent to help her mature and acclimate to society, and captain Picard agrees that Lal is no one’s property but rather Data’s own child.
If robots such as Data and Lal exist as close to human sentience as they do, can they ever truly “belong” to anyone? How does Lal’s ability to choose her own appearance and gender (and by extension the capability of humanoid robots to appear in myriad different ways) complicate questions of human identity? Would humans have a right to control technological procreation as a means of limiting singularity?
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 1982
Tron, a security program within the digital world, is thought dead and mourned by fellow programs Yori and Dumont.
- Kinolab
- 1982
Bonding, Creation, and Religion among the Digital
Tron, a security program within the digital world, is thought dead and mourned by fellow programs Yori and Dumont.
Can programmed AI develop emotions and attachment to its maker? Could this be considered a sort of religious freedom for artificial intelligence? If so, is it ethical to use super-intelligent AI without considering its rights?
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 1990
With his homing signal activated, the android Data takes control of the USS Enterprise and its systems and blocks the human crew from stopping him. For further reading, see the narrative Triton is the world’s most murderous malware, and it’s spreading.
- Kinolab
- 1990
Data Takes Over: Robots and Humans in the Workplace
With his homing signal activated, the android Data takes control of the USS Enterprise and its systems and blocks the human crew from stopping him. For further reading, see the narrative Triton is the world’s most murderous malware, and it’s spreading.
What dangers can AI cause within institutions and systems, if it becomes remotely hijacked? Should AI ever be allowed to develop in such a way that they can block out human autonomy over a certain system?