Move over Data...

There is so much science fiction that deals with robotics. It is a technology which has been explored in the works of Isaac Asimov, and it still plays a large role in short stories that are published in the Asimov's Science Fiction magazine today.

In much of science fiction there tends to be two strands of exploration: robots striving to be more human and robots trying to destroy humanity. Simply put, I know, but from my own experience with science fiction this is generally what I have observed.

Occasionally, the two explorations meet with the robot achieving what it deems to be the essence of humanity, then deciding it has improved on this essence. Finally, the developed robot decides that it is time for humanity to go the way of the dinosaur.

A fellow teacher and friend brought to my attention the news that a robot has been introduced to a classroom in Japan. It would appear we are a long way off from some of the robots we enjoy in science fiction, but the technological progress is increasing leaps and bounds.

Some skeptics may scoff at this progress, arguing we have a long way to go before we have a fully functional unit comparable to some of the science fiction. However, if we compare the evolution of the robot to the evolution of humanity, there are some striking similarities, and it is not taking millions of years for robots to develop.

But this brings up another point. The Judeo-Christian creation story speaks of a creator who makes us in his own image and creates us for a purpose, mainly to take care of the world and multiply (some would argue the two purposes are at odds in our world today). Whether you believe in this creation story, literally or figuratively, it does make the important point about purpose.

The way robots will evolve will depend on what purpose we have for them. It would seem the evolution of the robot may diverge much like humanity's did, with some robots going extinct and others flourishing.

Will a human-like robot have a purpose? I am not sure. If it is for companionship, I highly doubt it. At least for the majority of the population. When I think of companionship, I think of another human being or even an animal like a dog or cat. I am not sure if I would prefer the companionship of something created by humans with its main purpose to try to act human. It would appear I am not alone in this opinion. The reaction to many of the current robot creations is both a mix of awe and creepiness, primarily to human-like robots.

But then again technology has a way of slowly crawling into our every day routines. Another teacher I work with told me how amazed she was to observe a group of young boys on a hockey team each glued to his own Game boy as their team waited to play. None of the boys were engaged in their surroundings whatsoever, whether it be the hockey game going on in front of them, or the team members sitting beside them. The irony is that human-like robots created for companionship may be too boring for humans, or the robot may find our companionship wanting!

At any rate, I included a video of the ever popular Data character (Brent Spiner) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The android who wanted to be human. Compare his conversation about humanity with Commander Riker (Johathan Frakes) to the real conversational character robot Jules dialogue and his concern for his creator's well-being, David Hanson.





Now, certainly, Hanson's conversation with Jules is not near as poetic as the conversation between Riker and Data (albeit, probably as scripted). Nevertheless, to see science fiction becoming science fact is pretty incredible, even though the science fact has yet to be video taped on a space ship.