ok, so we run the risk of being annihilated or enslaved if robots decide to take over. that’s what the movies would have us believe. i’m willing to take that chance if it means i don’t have to talk or look at as many people through the course of a day.
plus, what if—i know this is hard to contemplate—the robots are intelligent enough to realize that killing doesn’t actually solve anything. so war becomes a thing of the past. i’m going to be in the minority here, but i think that artificial intelligence will rise above the shortcomings of the human race.
i got to thinking about this in anticipation of seeing blade runner: the final cut at a local movie theater in march. i’ve had it on my netflix queue since it was released in december, but it’s still “very long wait,” so i’ll probably be seeing it in the theater before the dvd.
i just hope that technology advances to the point of making robots a common household item, and i’m not talking about the roomba. i mean robots that do chores and engage in deep conversations.
Okay…so explain to me this artificial intelligence. Wouldn’t a human have made the robot, so therefore you’d be having deep conversations with a robot programmed by a human with human thoughts? Or is the theory that machines will develop an intelligence all their own and begin to just know things?
well, how do we “know things?” we learn them. we watch and listen and absorb. so, theoretically, a machine could do just the same if it is given the capacity for more than just making true/false decisions. i’m not talking about having a conversation with a robot with programmed responses, i’m talking about a robot that can adapt to any situation and use what it knows to wax philosophical from time to time. of course, the robot would have unfettered access to the internets via wi-fi, which would give it a “learning advantage.”
as humans, we are biological robots, or living machines. we are the blueprints for sentient machines. the ultimate goal should be to replicate the human brain in a computer processor. then we can upload our thoughts and memories and live forever in cyberspace. hurray for immortality!
we got that movie at blockbuster. If Danny hasn’t returned it yet, you can borrow it.