Friendship With Robots
Our life has changed rapidly in recent years . It has become faster, more demanding and more lonely. Part of this is because technology has come a long way and we are all very connected. The problem is that this connection is increasingly virtual and less human. We see each other little, we feel little and we hug even less . What has increased is our interaction with robots.
There are all kinds of robots. Now there is a machine that awaits us with warm bread in the morning, another that knows what music we are interested in listening to according to our mood, and so I can name you many more.
Are you replacing your links?
When you go to work, you don’t greet a lot of people on the road, do you? Now everything is done by a robot. They are everywhere and they have become your friends , even if they don’t look like robots from science fiction movies. They help you with everything, they are very efficient and never complain. Have you also gotten used to being with them? What should be the function of a robot?
This is a question that many have asked themselves lately. After very successful virtual pets were launched on the market a few years ago , that question is being heard more and more. Maybe you have ever wondered “Am I crazy because I love this machine that does such a task for me?” The truth is that we could no longer live without most of these machines.
Both these virtual pets and the technological devices that exist today have brought us closer to those who live miles away, but they take us away from those who are a few steps away. The problem is whether we have really chosen this and whether it is really what we want.
How to see robots?
Its role as a company is highly questionable. There are many studies on our behavior and our response to the presence of robots . That means that there are several versions about its usefulness as a company.
How they look is very important. Studies have been carried out showing that if they are very different, we reject them to fulfill this function. But, if they are very similar, also, because they generate fear and fear. They look like lifeless people but they do live! For this reason, companion robots are designed to have an animal appearance.
The first robots were designed in the shape of a cat and dog. They were not widely accepted and were unsuccessful because they were compared to the real thing. By not behaving like such, they were unsuccessful because the real ones were preferred.
The most successful robots have been a baby dinosaur and a baby seal. As their customs or habits are not well known, they have not been questioned and they have been accepted as they are. Initially they were for the little ones. To interact with them.
One of the big problems they presented was that they always did the same things and reacted in the same way, so they can now download updates to change their behavior. But children get bored after the novelty passes, they cannot bear the unconditional and monotonous presence of a robot.
Empathy and robots
The empathy is mental and emotional identification with the mood of another person. It is something we learn from babies. At the beginning of our lives, we follow everything that happens around us with our eyes. As we grow up we begin to draw certain logical conclusions. That is why it is very difficult for a child to accept the company of a robot for long.
Over time, the child needs to incorporate knowledge from his environment . If you have as a pet a robot that is always the same and does the same thing, that does not advance in its growth and keeps its physical appearance constant, you will have difficulty understanding the evolution of life.
For the elderly it is different. They can more easily accept robots and can surely incorporate them into their lives. There are many elderly people who are in nursing homes alone or with mental problems. The company of a pet of this type, that is tender and affectionate, in the absence of something better, or simply something, can come in handy.
The image is not everything
The image that robots have is not going to be what conditions them to be accepted. Their usefulness and the entertainment they provide will be the most judged virtues . But I believe that we should not let them replace us and always seek and provide human company.
