Chapter 6

• One dream that is still yet to be perfectly fulfilled by advancements in technology is the development of human-like and self-aware robots, often referred to as androids
• it is commonly accepted that robots contain some combination of the following attributes such as mobility, intelligent behavior, sense and manipulation of environment. The term “robot” truly extends to more than just androids.
• The commonly accepted first use of the word Robot was in 1920 in the form of a play written by Karel Capek. The play was entitled R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) and involves the development of artificial people.
• These people are referred to as robots and while they are given the ability to think, they are designed to be happy as servants. The use of the word “robot” in Capek's play comes from the Slavic languages‟ word for “work,” which is robota.
• While the word “robot” was not used until 1920, the idea of mechanical humans has been around as far back as Greek mythology
• ● One example that closely relates to the servant robots seen in Capek's play is the servants of the Greek god Hephaestus, the god of fire and the forge.
• It is recorded that Hephaestus had built robots out of gold which were “his helpers, including a complete set of life-size golden handmaidens who helped around the house”
• ”. Another example of robots in Greek mythology comes from the stories of Pygmalion, who is said to have crafted a statue of Galatea that would come to life.
• Beyond the ancient myths which speak of humanoid robots, one of the milestones in the design and development of such robots came with the discovery of Leonardo Da Vinci's journals which contained detailed plans for the construction of a humanoid robot.
• The journals in which the plans were found date back to 1495. It is unknown if this robot was ever built by Da Vinci, but merely conceiving it was a milestone in the timeline of robotic history
• In a comprehensive article in the New York Times, Robin Marantz Henig discusses her experiences with what are often labeled “social robots.”
• Henig said these machines are not the docile companions of the collective dreams, robots are designed to flawlessly serve dinners, fold clothes and do the dull or dangerous jobs that human do not want to do
• The basic tenets of Aristotle’s view are that an organism has both: “matter and form”
• matter - biological material, mechanical and electronic components
• form - psyche or soul
• Aristotle's philosophical view was embraced by various religions, perhaps most notably by the Roman Catholic Church and more specifically by St. Thomas Aquinas
• This differs from the philosophical position known as materialism, which has become popular in modern times and finds its roots among the ancient Indians
• Materialism does not entertain any notion of organisms having a “form” or “soul”; rather, organisms are made simply of various types of “matter.
• materialism - “A philosophical system which regards matter as the only reality in the world, ...and which thus denies the existence of God and the soul.”
• If materialism is correct, then humans should have the power to develop new forms of life.
• In 1942 Isaac 7 Asimov introduced to the world of science fiction what are known as the Three Laws of Robotics, which were published in his short story “Runaround.”
• South Korea is considered one of the most high-tech countries in the world and they are leading the way in the development of such a code. Known officially as the Robot Ethic's Charter
• Robot Ethic's Charter


  to prevent human abuse of robots--and vice versa - aims to define how people are to properly interact with robots
• technological nature 


  technologies that in various ways mediate, augment or simulate the natural world
• Entire television networks, such as the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, provide us with mediated digital experiences of nature: the lion’s hunt, the Monarch’s migration, or a climb high into the Himalayan peaks
• Video games, like Zoo Tycoon, engage children with animal life
• Zoos themselves are bringing technologies, such as webcams into their exhibits so that we can, for example, watch animals from the leisure of our home or a cafe.
• Inexpensive robot pets have been big sellers in the Wal-Marts and Targets of the world. Sony’s higher-end robot dog AIBO sold well
• Experts in South Korea were drawing up an ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa.
• A group of leading roboticists called the Chapter 2 81 European Robotics Network (Euron) has even started lobbying governments for legislation. At the top of their list of concerns is safety
• The article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carrs discusses the effects that the Internet may be having on our ability to focus, the difference in knowledge that we now have, and our reliance on the Internet.
• Inspired by the ancient myths, the robot was designed in the form of an armored knight and was to possess the ability to sit up, wave its arms, move its head, and open its mouth
• Three laws of robotics 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.