Robot rights

udgang99 · Post by **udgang99** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:46 am

Hmmm ... robots on welfare...

tully · Post by **tully** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 5:34 am

Wonder if they'll need a spokesman?

Lord of the Geeks · Post by **Lord of the Geeks** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 10:53 pm

I like that they are projecting that we will have machines operating at that technilogical level of quazi or true sentience in 20 years.

tully · Post by **tully** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 5:45 am

Lord of the Geeks wrote:I like that they are projecting that we will have machines operating at that technilogical level of quazi or true sentience in 20 years.

I think we may well see quasi-sentience within 10 or 15, actually. Some of the work being done in the field is absolutely astounding.

andoroido · Post by **andoroido** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:00 am

Read Aruther C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter's "Sunstorm" recently.
The main plot is about a near future world trying to block an Earth-killing solar flare.
The subplot is about AI.
In this version of the future, there is basically one big AI which has developed from basically a mix of Google and AskJeeves until it becomes a constant companion to everyone in the world, Aristotle. You can ask him anything, talk to him, he controls your house, drives your car, gets groceries delivered, handles the world's power grid, translates anything into any language, etc. etc. Enough power to handle talking to everyone simultaneously. Don't worry, no killer AI-run-amok story, though.
No robots, but it seemed like a likely way AI could evolve.

What about all robots being linked together in one big AI net? Using one big personna, maybe tweaked with certain traits on each bot, just like we use "skins" to customize our favorite programs to act/look how we want, even though it doesn't really change the program that everyone uses in common.
Thus not requiring an entire self-sufficient AI to be housed/created for each bot.

tully · Post by **tully** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:16 am

Clarke's vision (and Varley's...and Heinlein's) compelling and more plausible in many ways to "smaller" AI systems.

It almost makes sense that a giant network that's constantly changing and having new data fed into it makes for an easier "uplift" to sentience, and indeed the research and theory that's being done in this direction is fascinating.

I'm under no illusion that it will be spontaneous, but a carefully directed path that has been plotted and developed.

udgang99 · Post by **udgang99** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:06 am

Very interesting theory ... I'll have to read that story some day!

Robot rights

20 years

Re: 20 years