Philosophical and social meanings of robotics- what does it mean to you?

[Misanthrope]

Ever since I was a young child- eight years old, I have been interested in robotics. While I initially was more interested in making money off of a burgeoning industry (as I put it as a child, "robotics is now where computers were in the 80s"), robotics has taken on more and more of a symbolic and philosophical meaning to me. When I was around twelve, I took to philosophy, originally a self described nihilist before becoming a transhumanist- which I am today. Transhumanism is a scientific, artistic, philosophic and cultural movement that seeks to change basic human biology with technologies such as bio-engineering and neurorobotics, or cybernetics. The latter is what really drove me into pursuing robotics- to help a species so vulnerable to the vast majority of things in the world become just a little bit better. Robotics means to me not just progression of technology, but progression of my entire species.



How about you- is there any reason you want to go into, or have an interest in robotics that's more than just a college degree and the prospect of a career?