Will a robot and a human be indistinguishable soon?
Almost.
Almost?
The uncanny valley slows him down: that’s what we call in robotics what you feel when contemplating a virtual face.
What do you feel?
It seems human to you, but at some point you capture something subtle, almost imperceptible, that worries you, disturbs you…
Does something not add up?
Almost imperceptible, it creeps you out, disconcerts and unsettles you: unsettling valley!
Will an android never be able to sneak it into me?
That. I propose that we be more creative.
What does it mean?
That we do not design humanized robots, androids: we better create robots that look very different from humans.
Different from us… and that they serve us for something, above all.
Does your Roomba, your robot vacuum cleaner, work for you?
I don’t have one, but a brother of mine is delighted.
Have you named it?
Name?
Many users baptize their Roomba.
He did not know.
An emotional bond between human and robot arises. If that person takes her Roomba to be repaired and they offer him a new one, he rejects it! Yours is yours, irreplaceable.
Like a new pet.
It is human nature to empathize with objects and become attached to them until they feel like pets or talismans.
Or someone in the family.
At home we are surrounded by elementary robots: washing machine, dishwasher… And my children play with their robots…
What robots?
furbies. Cosmos. Pleos… There are many robots at home!
List…
Siri. Alexa. Google Home. Jibo, the pet robot. Aibo, Sony’s robot dog…
Further?
A baby seal. Medical devices. Paru: it is used in accompanying therapy in dementia, in residences, stuffed animals…
We jump from their children to the elderly.
The robot goes from playful to therapeutic.
And the one who picks up my clothes, washes, irons and hangs them up?
Reach. It’s simple.
Define for me what a robot is, in your opinion.
An object capable of gathering information from the environment to make decisions and act in the world.
Where did your interest in robots originate?
As a child I read a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov: my father, a computer engineer, collected them.
Asimov! Are your three laws of robotics still valid?
First: a robot will not harm a human, neither by action nor by omission.
Second.
A robot will obey human orders unless they go against the first law.
And third…
A robot will protect its survival unless it violates one of the first two laws.
Does a robot have to respect the laws?
They must be respected by the company that creates them and who uses them.
Because a robot can kill…
Armed robots, drones, have been used to kill humans: politicians should ban their manufacture and use.
Will a robot ever feel?
Not for today. In the year 2080, I dare not predict it. I was not able to predict what happened this year!
Refers to…
The emergence of linguistic applications of AI (artificial intelligence), ChatGPT and derivatives.
AI poems.
Until now he was limited to playing chess, now he begins to interact with you.
How do I know you are not a robot?
If you’re not feeling the uncanny valley then I’m not.
Or that they have made it very perfect.
Perfection lies in imperfections.
What worries you most about robots?
That we will prefer to interact with robots rather than with people. There will be physical and virtual machines that replace personal relationships…
Digital brides and grooms.
Children already start their sexual conversations like this today. And in the platonic lovers.
And artificial politicians, will there be?
We know that politicians deceive us but we accept it, so who knows.
The robot would perhaps be more neutral and more technocratic…
Not if the robot was programmed by Donald Trump.
Of course… And I sometimes obey my GPS… against my own senses.
You see that we are lost…
