Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/02/08/people-are-willing-to-endanger.html
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I wouldn’t sacrifice a human to save a robot, but I have many times put myself into some danger to rescue a valuable possession. Can you imagine running into a gap in traffic to retrieve your cell phone?
There’s less here than meets the eye.
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Won’t someone think of the trolleys?
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In the end, we will all be judged by how well we treated our robots.
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Cars are already seen as more valuable than human life or endangerment in most scenarios, I don’t have the slightest doubt that robots serving the wealthy will be seen as holding more value than humans in the near future.
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I delude myself into thinking I know how other people feel. I delude myself into thinking I know how my cat feels. Doesn’t seem a stretch to assume that I would delude myself into thinking a robot that acts the right way has feelings.
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People do the same thing to rescue “things” when putting themselves in danger. And animals, though at least they are living things. So it doesn’t surprise me they are willing to risk themselves to save robots they can relate to.
Who here wouldn’t take a bullet for R2-D2 or Wall-e?
Gonk Droids can fuck off, though.
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This seems to fit everything we know about people. The idea that humans will kill to protect even non-anthropomorphized property is so well established that a large chunk of the population not only engages in it, but considers it a moral imperative. Slap a face on that property and it will only be more true.
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These people need to rewatch The Empire Strikes Back so they can realize just how easy it is to return an anthropomorphic robot that’s been blown to bits to perfect working condition. Chewie did it while locked in a detention cell with no tools. Well, mostly.
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Having met my fair share of humans… This result does not surprise me.
A supportive robot who helps me out versus an asshole, or someone who clearly doesn’t give a shit about me? This is not a difficult choice.
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EDIT: This show is awesome and you should all be watching it.
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It doesn’t look like full text is online, unfortunately; but this researcher has done a bunch of interesting work on the relationships between bomb disposal robots and their operators.
Apparently the fact that the bot is there because it’s a job well suited to the repairable and expendable, and in spite of the cute anthropomorphic design not being a priority in that area of robotics, does not prevent the development of affective attachment.
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Guess which one is riddled with destructive malware.
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I say it depends on who owns the robot. I’ll save it if it’s mine.
There’s a bit over here about how an Army colonel supposedly stopped a test of a landmine-clearing robot because it felt “inhumane”.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/05/AR2007050501009.html
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