http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics. ... cientists/First Ever Human Robots Invented By Japanese Scientists
Written by Steven Bancarz| Human robots have recently been invented by Japanese scientist, inventor, and professor Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro, and they pose a striking resemblance to human beings. In fact, they almost look more real than human beings. This was the goal of Hiroshi when he was creating the humanoid robot: to make it as indistinguishable in behaviour and appearance from a human being as possible. Here are a few of these things in action: -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaTfzYDZG8c
The introduction of these robots into our society could create some problems. As a presenter of these androids said at a conference, he sees them as being the future of telecommunications.
Will we begin to see these robots fill job spots involving repetitive tasks and data management? What about factory jobs? The creation of fully operational and functional human robots could have some serious economic implications.
They are nowhere near that advanced in their behaviour yet however. In fact, they don’t even control themselves yet. They are controlled by someone behind the scenes who speaks through them and moves their mouths and arms with computer software. They are nonetheless a huge milestone for human ingenuity.
What was his inspiration for creating these humanoids? Here is professor Ishiguro talking his reasons for taking on such a project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IFuv1AVouM
These things are a scientific marvel. Although they lack things like freedom of the will, rationality, and subjectivity, they seem to be capable of basic human interactions. He recently revealed 2 more at the National Museum of Merging Science and Innovation this year. Here they are being interviewed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyl72Re5110
What would happen if we were one day able to give these androids human-like processing capabilities? What if we could somehow replicate human intelligence within them, and program them to be behaviourally identical to us?
IBM is famous for creating a supercomputer that they call “Watson”, which is a cognitive technology that can do exactly what humans do. It uses programmatic computing plus the combination of three additional capabilities: natural language processing, hypothesis generation and evaluation, and dynamic learning.
Through repeated use, Watson literally gets smarter by tracking feedback from its users and learning from both successes and failures. So this cognitive computer can literally read, generate hypotheses, learn, and hold a conversation. Here is a video of Watson beating humans in Jeopardy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFR3lOm_xhE
If I were professor Ishiguro, I would be contacting IBM to try to combine the world of androids with the world of cognitive technology. We have all of the technology we need to create a world similar to that in I Robot. The only question is, do we want that? Imagine having a robot driving your taxi, or acting as your assistant at work. What impacts would that have on our civilization, both socially and existentially?
A question that personally interests me is, are they persons? Would they deserve to be treated fairly and lovingly? What do you guys think about this?
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Alright, so some of these clips are a few years old, and this topic has been discussed for many years now. Ishiguro has also been seen a lot on Discovery Channel and documentaries dealing with futuristic topics. But, I thought this little article compiled the material in one spot really well, and it's a good introduction for anyone interested in this subject matter.
So, what do you guys think of all this?
I will admit I am a bit wary. Call me backwards if you like, but I am just not sure how these androids will tell us something about ourselves. I am wary about the idea of replacing human beings with androids at regular working places and have children interact with androids instead of humans. I am just a little worried about how this could affect overall social situations, regular work for human beings, and our own humanity.
Also... I respect the guy's genius mind and all, but Ishiguro kind of comes off as having a pretty huge ego, in those videos. It partly looks to me like he is mostly creating these humanoids for showing of his own genius. Maybe I'm wrong, though. Just that, I am a little worried about potential unforeseen consequences, though.
I like my Ghost in the Shell as much as the next person. And I don't doubt an android could harvest a soul.
However, I also can't forget Ghost in the Shell 2 and the misery of the androids because of them being created by the humans for expandable usage. This could turn ugly.
Discuss.