{"id":3081,"date":"2021-02-16T10:51:52","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T10:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1339139"},"modified":"2021-02-16T10:51:52","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T10:51:52","slug":"can-we-be-friends-with-robots-research-says-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=3081","title":{"rendered":"Can we be friends with robots? Research says yes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the 2012 film \u201cRobot and Frank,\u201d the protagonist, a retired cat burglar named Frank, is suffering the early symptoms of dementia. Concerned and guilty, his son buys him a \u201chome robot\u201d that can talk, do household chores like cooking and cleaning, and reminds Frank to take his medicine. It\u2019s a robot the likes of which we\u2019re getting closer to building<\/a> in the real world.<\/p>\n

The film follows Frank, who is initially appalled by the idea of living with a robot, as he gradually begins to see the robot as both functionally useful and socially companionable. The film ends with a clear bond between man and machine, such that Frank is protective of the robot when the pair of them run into trouble.<\/p>\n

This is, of course, a fictional story, but it challenges us to explore different kinds of human-to-robot bonds. My recent research<\/a> on human-robot<\/span> relationships examines this topic in detail, looking beyond sex robots and robot love affairs to examine the most profound and meaningful of relationships: friendship.<\/p>\n

My colleague and I identified some potential risks \u2013 like the abandonment of human friends for robotic ones \u2013 but we also found several scenarios where robotic companionship can constructively augment people\u2019s lives, leading to friendships that are directly comparable to human-to-human<\/span><\/span> relationships.<\/p>\n

Philosophy of friendship<\/h2>\n

The robotics philosopher John Danaher<\/a> sets a very high bar for what friendship means. His starting point is the \u201ctrue\u201d friendship first described by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, which saw an ideal friendship as premised on mutual goodwill, admiration, and shared values. In these terms, friendship is about a partnership of equals.<\/p>\n

Building a robot that can satisfy Aristotle\u2019s criteria is a substantial technical challenge and is some considerable way off \u2013 as Danaher himself admits. Robots that may seem to be getting close, such as Hanson Robotics\u2019 Sophia<\/a>, base their behavior on a library of pre-prepared responses: a humanoid chatbot, rather than a conversational equal. Anyone who\u2019s had a testing back-and-forth with Alexa or Siri will know AI still has some way to go in this regard.<\/p>\n

[Read: How Polestar is using blockchain to increase transparency<\/span><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

In the video below, the humanoid robot Sophia, developed by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics.<\/span><\/p>\n