Wednesday, June 3, 2009
why did the robot cross the road?
he didn't. the sad truth of the matter is that he tried. the trouble with robots is that they can't manage to interpret directions. you see, robots, assuming they do what they're told to do, they do exactly what they're told to do. imagine this scenario:
you decide to send your KX-2000 to the local grocer for some much needed wares (you would go get those products yourself, but what the hell do you have a robot for, right??). you input the grocer's address into the "robot's state-of-the-art" GPS application and send it on it's way. it walks out the door. it makes a sharp right-hand turn onto the sidewalk. it stops at the corner. it pushes the button for the crossing signal. it waits. then the little green walky man appears. the robot begins to cross the street. then, like clockwork, the little green walky guy disappears and the big red flashy hand appears in it's place. what does your robot do? if you said, "it keeps walking," you, sir, are sadly mistaken. if you said, "it stops dead in it's tracks," you, sir, are correct. now what? your robot is standing, smack-dab, in the middle of the street. the simple on and off flashing of the glowing red hand is probably enough to throw your robot into a logic loop, hopefully not resulting in any circuit damage. regardless, one of two things is destined to happen: either the robot will cause a traffic jam waiting for the little green walky guy, OR the robot will get destroyed by a speeding vehicle. either way, no bueno.
now, let's take this situation one step further. let's say the government has placed new Good Samaritan Bots around the city. What do you think would happen if one of these GSBs were to help an elderly lady crossing the street? no big deal you say?? what if it was your granny's parts scattered all across the intersection?you see, it's the little stuff like this that make robots a poor fit with our society.
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