Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Which Would You Prefer- A Human Or A Robot?
Would any of you be okay with having a robot nearby or having a robot care to you even? In Japan an enormous amount of funding goes into robot development and research, but surprisingly in the article above, people in Japan still prefer that "human touch." There are many benefits to having a robot aid at home and in hospital environments such as a decreased likelihood of spreading diseases or bacteria from other people doctors or nurses would otherwise come into contact with. While robots are still very limited in their capabilities they have a lot of potential to do good in the world, especially for the thousands of Americans that fall and break a leg every year. However if the same thing happened to me, I would much rather prefer a human being who will react with emotion and care instead of a robot characterizing my injury as just another task, but what do you guys think of all this?
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7 comments:
I would much rather spend my money on a person to take care of me than a robot. I think a person's needs would be better tended to if he is able to have a relationship and an emotional connection with the person who is taking care of him. With a robot this can not be done. Also, if the robot breaks it would add stress to the ill person because they would have to worry about having to fix it. Robot malpractice could also lead to major lawsuits against the companies that produce robots. More people would lose money in a business lawsuit than in a lawsuit against a single person who acted wrongfully while caring for someone. All in all, I think nothing compares to human love and compassion, and love itself has much healing power.
-Sandy Frank
Because robots aren't something we are used to in our lives, it's not surprising that most of us would prefer care from other human beings, despite the numerous advantages of robots. But I've also learned in past biology and psychology classes that a gentle touch (e.g. a hug) releases neurotransmitters like serotonin and oxytocin that give people a feeling of reward and pleasure. Studies have also shown that when infants are growing up, they naturally/physiologically need direct contact in order to emotionally or mentally develop properly. Robots might be a tremendous help to us in the future for other functions, but I'm not sure that we should try to substitute humans for them when we really need other people.
There was a study a while ago were people got to talk to "someone" online. They didn't know if it was a robot (script) or a human. When the subjects got a chance to pick who would they rather talk too, most of them picked the script. Why? Because the robot was designed to flatter people and most people like to be talked good about. They didn't care about any emotional attachment. Personally i would prefer a human because the experience is always changing, while a robot can only be programmed to do certain things.
Much of the controversy that is associated with the development of these robots in Japan is derived from exactly what Sandy and Sarah mentioned. People fear that the lack of emotion that the robots will project (or not project) is too disheartening and shocking. Having robots tend to human needs would be convenient regarding efficiency and productivity, but the preference of human touch and emotion is too great to compare to. Ultimately, robots will fall short in that category.
Also, it's difficult not to wonder if part of Japan's motives for developing these robot helpers are related or not to the fact that they are quickly gaining speed in the race for having the best technology in the world. Even President Obama found it necessary to mention in his State of the Union speech how Asian countries are excelling in the technology department, which is part of the reason why he suggested the need to find new teachers to educate the youth with an emphasis on math and science (this was frustrating to hear, especially since we obviously need teachers for ALL subjects, including English, History, and Art/other creative Electives). In any case, while Japan's newest technologies may be fascinating and news-worthy, I don't see how they're going to be able to encourage people to purchase robots when it is clear that humans crave human touch, rather than an artificial one.
Robots do fall short - does not mean that they will. In fact robot-human interaction is very a fascinating field (while I might be biased). As it stands, there are definitely things that computers do better than humans - much less error prone, for example, and "learning" to do something is as simple as deploying the software.
However I know I'm not the only one with a visceral unease (is that a correct way to use that word?) at the idea of a world run by robots, as the numerous sci-fi novels and movies about the subject attest. But ultimately, progress happens; we'll just have to see.
Oh, somewhere in typing that I lost the thing I was originally going to mention, which is that as technology improves, we might find that robots might eventually be able to provide that "human" touch. Hmm.
I think that robots are a great idea for aid toward the elderly people. I mean even though i know its going to sound rediculous, but what if the robots do have a malfunction and certain unfortunate events do happen how will the public react. I know its sounds dumb but there is always going to be a possibility.
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