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Unread 02-06-2010, 00:10
Radical Pi Radical Pi is offline
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AKA: Ian Thompson
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Re: Marshall Brain articles on the future with robots

I believe this is what he is talking about

If you're interested in this kind of thing, I'd highly recommend the robot novels by Isaac Asimov. Particularly "The caves of steel" for this topic. It shows an alarmingly plausible future where humans have grown to a size where they must live in huge cities (more like states or even countries) and live very tightly controlled lives based around minimalizing waste. One of the side effects of this life is a huge resentment towards robots doing any job that humans can do at all, to the point where there is a riot if a single person is replaced with a robot. This is the kind of thing I would expect with any move towards the future described in the article. At the moment things like ATMs are accepted because they are seen as a mindless task that requires none of the "human element" to perform. The moment we get to the point of things like the positronic brain in Asimov's stories, however, the rest of humans would recognize a threat and banish all robots to space exploration (again similar to the Asimov stories).

Also, I see a kind of resentment to non-human interaction in everyday lives. Sure, it's much more convenient if an automated kiosk takes your order, then a machine cooks the burger for you, then it comes out on an automated tray, but almost everyone enjoys those short conversations you have to other humans when ordering that burger. It is very tough to make a robot powerful enough to handle the average human conversation and still make it seem natural. Even if it was done, that resentment would show up where we know it's foreign and tend to not want it as much.

Plus, there's the aspect of self-preservation. I highly doubt that any programmer would ever create a robot that could program on the same level as him due to the thought that it would lead to his own unemployment. Similarly, no manager would buy a robot that could replace him in his duties as a manager. Whoever has control over where the robots can be would limit the robots to be in a lower position to protect their own role.

Now, I'm getting tired, so I'll stop boring you with my arguments[/human psychology arguments with no degrees]
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