Conscious bots: Hot or Not?

[33cl33]

Maybe not the best phrased poll question, but intended more to kick off some chatter around consciousness in manufactured humanoid robots.

[33cl33]

Personally, on the fetish side, I'm only interested in a fembot as a programmed machine. I think once there's some undeniably agentive consciousness involved, that's where all the ethical issues come in.

Aside from the fetish - I find the topic of consciousness wildly interesting. Academia sure hasn't made much progress on that front, despite it being the main human feature that motivates us.

And given the hot topic of "AI" these days - I find it perplexing that we're already seeing people who assume convincing simulations of intelligence to be conscious, and thus deserve to be treated as such... without any bedrock of proof or explanation of how it would even come into existence.

In fact, I'm starting to think that our downfall with AI won't be the alignment problem, it'll be people with hasty ideology screwing up society on behalf of machines that don't have a lick of self-awareness.

[D.Olivaw]

As a fictional proposition? Both are fun in their own, unique ways.

[dubhdanaidh]

I prefer fembots with some level of consciousness. But that's because I like the idea of a fembot being somewhat aware that she is malfunctioning, even if she is in full denial.

[D-wolfmaster_2022]

My preference for fembots are ones with an AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). I think it has better storytelling potential.

Imagine the issues someone would have if their mind was a computer and their body a machine? What advantages, disadvantages, similarities and differences would they have with a human being? How would they feel about getting a virus or a glitch? Would they even have emotions or some equivalent? How would a human deal with a sapient android or gynoid? Would a human even be aware of artificial sapience? Would humans accept these sapient machines as fellow beings or would they dismiss their personhood as some kind of malfunction?

Just some food for thought.

[jolshefsky]

I keep my fantasy firmly planted in a paradox. I want my fembot to look exactly like a real woman and exactly artificial. She'd have complete autonomous consciousness (programmed or transferred) and also be fully re-programmable. Like I say, a full paradox which is only possible in fantasy. Of course, it makes it tough—inconceivable even—to find such a creation in reality. But of course, I'm not one to believe such convincingly realistic androids will ever exist, at least not to my tech-aware, discerning eye (looking at you, people who believe Siri/ChatGPT is alive, with the other).

[BA2]

“… exactly like a real woman and exactly artificial. She'd have complete autonomous consciousness (programmed or transferred) and also be fully re-programmable...”

We have similar paradoxical likes:

Physically not so much. I like my ‘bots to be obviously artificial, not trying to fool anyone into thinking they’re real people but still realistic enough to interact like a meat girl in society and to be sexy. I like it when their design skimps on human real details where it doesn’t matter in everyday life, I figure their more intimate users would enjoy their plastic bodies for what they are. I like it when little details like neck seams, decals and controls / ports highlight their artificiality even when they act completely human.

Mentally yes. I prefer my ‘bots to be conscious, programmed with a fully developed personality and to feel a ‘self’. I think this adds to the sense of objectification that comes from their artificial body. Having a human upload as the basis for their selfware works for me to emphasise this but I don’t really see a difference between uploaded or a sophisticated synthetic personality. I too enjoy the paradox that, as machine, they can be reprogrammed. Their sense of self can be altered at the whim of a user, their personality adjusted for preference or convenience.

The conflict arising from programmable self-will is the sweet spot for me. A bot will have feelings about being reprogrammed, having her settings altered or being shut down. She may be happy to be used (new work or sex applications installed) or annoyed or surprised, (what’s wrong with the way I am.) She may be very angry or terribly anxious about no longer being herself, she may simply be indignant about having her clothes / panels opened in public like an appliance rather than a woman. But the consciousness feeling this is itself programmed, she is unable to resist / object in any meaningful way. After new settings, reprogramming or simply being turned back on again, she will continue to function normally, maybe as a new self or with more subtle changes, regardless of any previous feelings

I agree this paradox is likely impossible, an externally reprogrammable personality could likely have no true self but I still like the idea! It only really works if the ‘self’ is just a simulation rather than a true ego with inner feelings but that is a deep rabbit hole to go down…

[BebesIsPerfect]

Consciousnes enough to have a certain degree of self-preservation and some form of personality (like maybe 33%-70% of a full personality) I would have to say are more interesting to me, to answer the question put forth. The paradoxical tastes of jolshefsky and BA2 are very understandable and I can totally see their appeals. An appliance with a simplistic programming on par with, say, a "Tickle-Me Elmo" toy can wear thin quickly. I'm not saying it would act/talk like "Tickle-Me Elmo", I'm just comparing the level of programming sophistication (or lack thereof).

On the other hand, if, however, the paradoxes give way to a higher sophistication of personality, this is where the Real World ideological concern brought up by OP 33cl33 rears its ugly head, which, again, I think I understand. A sophisticated enough personality/consciousness simulation in a fembot would inspire groups of civil rights activists in the vein of PETA or the ASPCA to decry the injustice being done to devices whose purpose is to be a companion attached to a user, and the device never asked to be put in that position. I can hear them now: "After all, they're just like us." Wrong. By merit of being artificial intelligence, their intelligence (and, by extension, their consciousness) is artificial, no matter the sophistication. By getting more and more complex in concept, we forget the basics, and we cannot forget the basics (no matter how profitable doing so could be at the box office).

"Robots as strict machines following programming"... D.Olivaw is right in that both are fun in unique ways, but when I apply my imagination, I keep finding myself drawn to scenarios of a fembot with some degree of (but not too much) personality or consciousness interacting with me, the user. That way it it knows its place, and its purpose, and stops short of crossing the line where problems would arise.

[33cl33]

I mentioned it in 'reports,' but the new book "Annie Bot" that just came out yesterday is pretty great - and from the replies, I think many of you would enjoy the hell out of it.

It really toys with the tension between programming and some semblance of self-direction inside a robot in interesting ways, without doing the usual lazy thing where she's basically just a person, but artificial (or a GINO).

[Condor621]

I mentioned it in 'reports,' but the new book "Annie Bot" that just came out yesterday is pretty great - and from the replies, I think many of you would enjoy the hell out of it.

It really toys with the tension between programming and some semblance of self-direction inside a robot in interesting ways, without doing the usual lazy thing where she's basically just a person, but artificial (or a GINO).

Thays the crux of many of the protagonists in my videos. Artificial consciousnesses that are based on code, OS's, programming, etc., but as they experience and develop, they tend to become more than the sum of what makes them work. Something, or SOMEONE as intelligent, clever, brave and loyal as the Nikita character in that story set may be defined as "artificial", or just a complex and advanced machine... but the inherent consciousness of a being that evolves and learns and experiences things simply has to become something.. more. So yeah, I guess I like the hot, conscious, artificial girl who IS still a machine and KNOWS IT, but... decides to strive to be something more.

I think IRL a robot girl like Cherry, who is beautiful and charming.. but kinda dumb would get boring after a while. Ever date a smokin' hot girl that was physically amazing, but just... stupid? For some, they're good with it. TO me, the novelty of dating a 10 with an IQ of 80 got old fast...