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Robot Becomes One of the Kids

Posted by kdawson on from the everybody-say-awwww dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers have found that toddlers treat a small robot as a peer rather than a toy. A team from the University of California, San Diego, placed Sony's QRIO in a classroom of kids aged 18 months to 2 years and watched them interact. Over time the children grew to treat the robot as one of them — playing games with the robot, hugging it, and covering it up with a blanket when its batteries ran down."

186 comments

  1. They do the same with a dog.. by moogied · · Score: 5, Insightful
    or any pet for that matter.

    For example.. take this sentence:

    games with the robot, hugging it, and covering it up with a blanket and replace robot with dog.

    Would that be news worthy? No. Why? Because its in the nature of most children to play games and take cares of others(because that is what people do to them.) This does not mean they see it as a peer. They see it as a pet.

    --
    So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
    1. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by mdobossy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      and replace robot with dog. What I found most interesting, however, is the difference between how the children interacted with 1) a more "robotic" control robot, 2) the "more human" robot when it ceases to act "more human". Sure a kid will nurture/care for a pet, but it is very different than how they treat a stuffed animal/toy.
    2. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by VernonNemitz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The key point is that such experiments allow us to prove to us adults that all the prejudice in the world is the fault of people older than toddlers. To end racial prejudice, toddlers of different human breeds need to be raised together. And so on.

    3. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Itninja · · Score: 5, Insightful

      To an 18 month old child, I doubt there much difference between the way they treat a pet and the way they treat a peer. For that matter, between nearly any object and a peer. Children will anthropomorphize anything. I've seen kids try to share their PB & J sandwich with a VCR. Is the VCR a peer? I guess in some abstract, childish way, it is. The real test is when they start competing with a parent for the affections of the robot. I still think my Mom likes her Roomba more than me....

      --
      I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
    4. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by blind+biker · · Score: 1

      Actually, kids to think of pets as their peers. It's just part of how they see the world.

      --
      "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    5. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by stoolpigeon · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure how the two follow. Proving that prejudice is the fault of adults and then saying that prejudice can be ended by dealing with children? Doesn't make sense to me. Where did the prejudice come from and what will keep it from coming back?

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    6. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by joshuac · · Score: 5, Funny

      I still think my Mom likes her Roomba more than me....

      Wrong appliance.
    7. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They both scare the cat.

    8. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Actually the '[PB&J, Vegemite] sandwich into the VCR' is a toddler skill known as 'posting'. most toddlers will move through this stage and will happily sit still for hours (well, minutes) shoving:


      • Sandwiches into VCRs
      • Leaves into a drain grate
      • Credit cards down central-heating grates
      • Letters through a door (assuming you live in a country with mail-slots in your door)


      From personal experience, if your child is trying to post into the VCR, make sure your wallet is out of reach - otherwise you'll never find all those cards.


      Cheers

    9. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by blindd0t · · Score: 3, Funny

      These days, it's generally preferred that there's not even a carpet that needs cleaning.

    10. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Aelcyx · · Score: 1

      I was intrigued by how short the robot was compared to the children. I would imagine different results if the robot was larger or taller, especially compared to a child. I feel a better control would be to make the robot the children's height.

    11. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by dajak · · Score: 2, Funny

      I imagine that I will teach my 10 months old son my prejudices later, just like I am teaching him right now not to torture the cat.

    12. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by stoolpigeon · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Or he'll grow up and at some point develop some all on his own. I don't think we learn all our prejudices as children. I don't think we learn all our prejudices at all. I think we can come up with them all on our own.

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    13. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by moogs · · Score: 0

      yeah, sure... where all the kids of different races are taken forcibly away from their parents, thrown in a cold dark cell and told to survive... by eating each other! come back after a month, the race of the surviving kids will be declared the uber race! hey, i have bad karma already, and i'm bored.

      --
      I have bad karma. What do I care what you think?
    14. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by corifornia2 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I saw we give the robot lasers and a buzz saw and see how the kid treat it then.

    15. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Gulthek · · Score: 1

      Or with stuffed animal.

    16. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by BewireNomali · · Score: 1

      toddlers of different human "breeds" will often group up according to race, age, and gender given free opportunity to self organize. one can argue that they've already been imprinted with bias at that young age - but one can also argue that they have not.

      lol @ "breed".

      --
      un burrito me trampeó.
    17. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Max+Littlemore · · Score: 1

      Children will anthropomorphize anything.

      Thank you. And thanks to the "scientists" who did this research.

      Yesterday, while we were out, my 2 year old called home and spoke to a light globe. This research eases my mind.

      --
      I don't therefore I'm not.
    18. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Atario · · Score: 1

      Or, possibly, wrong parent.

      --
      "A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
    19. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah. everyone knows the roomba is DAD's best friend.

    20. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Kingrames · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Our soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq were the target of a similar study, and you'd be surprised to know that the results were similar. Many of our troops were visibly upset and shaking after the "death" of a bomb-detonating robot designed for the SOLE PURPOSE of walking over to a bomb and detonating it. It even reached the point where they asked for military command to stop using the robots for such "inhumane" missions.

      You make it sound like this is childish behavior, but I think that perhaps even you might exhibit some of it too given enough time with a similar robot.

      --
      If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
    21. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Device666 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually very young kids don't treat animals so much different than toys. I have seen a kid trying to use a guineepig as a little toy car. It's also no wonder kids grab the tails of cats, they would do the same with their stuffed whinnie the pooh bear. At a young age they mixup animals a lot calling a horse sheep etc. So it's not that difficult to imagine mixing up pets and robots (toys).

    22. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Koiu+Lpoi · · Score: 1

      Companion Cube much?

    23. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by sh3l1 · · Score: 1

      VCR?!?

      --
      Help Me! I'm trapped in the tubes! Oh noes! Here comes a internet!
    24. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by pokerdad · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sure a kid will nurture/care for a pet, but it is very different than how they treat a stuffed animal/toy.

      Being an only child (and a man) nearly all my experience with babies/toddlers has come from my son, so this is admitly anecdotal, but with regards to him you couldn't be more wrong.

      My son frequently feeds, kisses, talks to, and puts his toys to bed. This is in no way limited to human-like or animal-like toys, in fact, his toy cars receive more attention and affection than any others.

    25. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by forgotten_my_nick · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Someone with a bit more knowledge might be able to expand on this.

      There was a famous experiment where a researcher had his child interact with a Chimp to see if the Chimp would exhibit human behavior. He found out after a while his child actually started to act like the chimp.

      I wonder if the kids acted similar to the robot?

    26. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by hjo3 · · Score: 1

      > Many of our troops were visibly upset and shaking after the "death" of a bomb-detonating robot

      Oh, bullshit.

    27. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by dintech · · Score: 1

      My son frequently feeds, kisses, talks to, and puts his toys to bed... ...his toy cars receive more attention and affection than any others.

      How interesting. In 30 years he'll do the same thing with his Porsche.

    28. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now that would be unethical. We need to do this with fruit flies first, then we can do the humans. I put money on the red fruit flies and the Mongolian humans.

    29. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by splutty · · Score: 1

      Roomba... Wrong appliance... Carpet...

      Uhm. We're seriously going the wrong way here in this thread.

      [/sickmind]

      --
      Coz eternity my friend, is a long *ing time.
    30. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by solitas · · Score: 1

      Yes, but kids seeing it as a 'pet' doesn't generate nearly as much Ph.D.-output as if they see it as a 'peer'. Gotta keep those phony-baloney jobs, y'know...

      --
      "It's time to take life by the cans." ~ Bender ("Bendin' in the Wind", ep. 3-13)
    31. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by nwbvt · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Most people also get upset when something happens to their car (and I don't mean the simple "damn, now I'll have to take the bus" reaction). Its a known fact that people can get attached to mechanical objects. Thats not what this study was about.

      They developed two robots, one very mechanical, and one that giggled and appeared to interact with the children. The children treated the second robot much different from the first robot. The first they treated more or less as a toy, with all the rough treatment that entails. They may well have become upset had it been taken away (as kids do for most of their toys), but they interacted with it differently than they would another child. They second they treated much like they would treat another kid, from how they touched it to how they took care of it. And the most interesting thing was over the long term this interest lasted, while they got bored with the first robot.

      --
      Mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination.
    32. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by hey! · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Dogs are a special case. Domestic dogs have been selectively bred over countless generations to interact with people.

      I remember reading in Science News about a study where the ability of dogs and chimps to pick up on subtle human behavioral cues. Chimps are far, far more intelligent generally than dogs are. Chimps live in social groups that are much more complex, and perhaps human like, than wild dogs. They're our closest living evolutionary relative, other than the bonobo. Despite this, dogs outperformed chimps at interpreting human behavioral cues.

      The cheat in this experiment is that the researchers controlled the robot so it interacted with the children. If completely autonomous robots could approach the level of sophistication of a dog when it comes to interacting with a human, that would be news indeed.

      In any case, kids are a special case. Anthropomorphizing a machine is an act of imagination. The imagination of children is tremendously more vivid than adult imagination. When they run around the house pretending to fly, they are as close to experiencing flight like a bird as they will ever be in their lives. Careful parents make sure any second story windows are securely closed.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    33. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      How interesting. In 30 years he'll do the same thing with his Porsche.

      Or a black satin chemise. Mmmm.

    34. Re:They do the same with a dog.. by Eli+Gottlieb · · Score: 1

      Please be reminded that the Aperture Science Bomb-Detonating Robot will never stab you and, in fact, cannot speak.

  2. yeah.. by resfilter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    most young children also treat inanimate dolls or stuffed animals as peers

    why is this so groundbreaking?

    1. Re:yeah.. by bcharr2 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Most young children also treat inanimate dolls or stuffed animals as peers

      You raise a good point. The study also utilized another robot that simulated a inanimate doll or stuffed animal. The article states:

      The children also treated QRIO with more care and attention than a similar-looking but inanimate robot that the researchers called Robby, which acted as a control in the experiment. Once they had grown accustomed to QRIO, they hugged it much more than Robby, who also received far more rough treatment.
    2. Re:yeah.. by glittalogik · · Score: 2, Funny

      ...who also received far more rough treatment. Proof that defilement of corpses is a naturally evolved trait.
    3. Re:yeah.. by lahvak · · Score: 1

      Again, no surprise here. Given two dolls, identically looking but one that does all sort of amazing stuff and one that just sits there, which one do you thing the kids will rather play with? They will sometimes pick up the "boring" one as a prop in the play with the "cool" one, but when they are done with it, they will toss it aside.

      --
      AccountKiller
  3. Cue "Robot Overlord" jokes! by iknownuttin · · Score: 5, Funny
    ...but a new study shows that a giggling robot is sophisticated enough to get toddlers to treat it as a peer.

    "Robot Overlord" jokes are actually on topic!

    --
    I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
    1. Re:Cue "Robot Overlord" jokes! by IgLou · · Score: 1

      Exactly! First they become our peers then they become our overlords.

      Although, I vaguely remember being young trying to share food with the TV; it sounds similar. Oh TV, my one true friend. Ahem, but a robot could never be accepted as a peer they don't have TV's personality. Isn't that right TV?

      --

      Oops, how did this get here?
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    2. Re:Cue "Robot Overlord" jokes! by Applekid · · Score: 1

      Here Tom Seleck. Come on. Down the hatch. Come on. Hey Hey! None for you Higgins! Tryin' to steal Tom Seleck's food. Nooo No. You had yours.
      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    3. Re:Cue "Robot Overlord" jokes! by Orleron · · Score: 1

      I for one welcome our new robot overlords.

    4. Re:Cue "Robot Overlord" jokes! by Reverend528 · · Score: 1

      I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords.

      --
      Badass Resumes
  4. A brain the size of a planet by stoolpigeon · · Score: 5, Funny

    and they put me in the middle of a room full of toddlers.

    Life? Don't talk to me about life.

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    1. Re:A brain the size of a planet by JeepFanatic · · Score: 1

      I wish I had mod points. You just made my afternoon. I love the Hitchhiker's Guide!

    2. Re:A brain the size of a planet by nocomment · · Score: 1

      Hey! You made it in the "10 hot comments" box on the front page with this one. :-)

      --
      /* oops I accidentally made a comment, sorry */
      /* http://allyourbasearebelongto.us */
  5. Wait what did that researcher say by techpawn · · Score: 3, Funny

    Over time the children grew to treat the robot as one of them -- playing games with the robot, hugging it, and covering it up with a blanket when its batteries ran down."
    Some researcher said sex with robots in the next 20 years right? Might as well start em early...
    --
    Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
    1. Re:Wait what did that researcher say by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is how you start em early, if they see them as a peer - do they see them as an acceptable person to date?

      This generation will marry robots, fuck robots, and fight for robot rights no doubt.

    2. Re:Wait what did that researcher say by aphexcoil2 · · Score: 3, Funny

      So you're saying Slashdotters will be able to lose their virginity in 20 years? Sweet!

    3. Re:Wait what did that researcher say by uhlume · · Score: 1

      Optimistic, much? Even robots have standards.

      --
      SIERRA TANGO FOXTROT UNIFORM
    4. Re:Wait what did that researcher say by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      Oh, sweet, spicy man-on-robot sex, why dost thou elude me?

    5. Re:Wait what did that researcher say by Eli+Gottlieb · · Score: 1

      True, but Slashdotters have exploits allowing them to execute arbitrary code.

    6. Re:Wait what did that researcher say by uhlume · · Score: 1

      Robot roofies? If that's what the future holds, maybe I'll just stay right here.

      --
      SIERRA TANGO FOXTROT UNIFORM
  6. I can just see it now... It will become a crime to by davidsyes · · Score: 0

    Pet a Bot....

    Just think of the Bots...

    Or, worse...

    Petabytes of Paedophelia for PetaBot PeBopheliacs... PePaPePa...

    --
    Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  7. ahem... by Bozzio · · Score: 0, Troll

    They, for many, welcome our new robot overlords.

    --
    I just pooped your party.
    1. Re:ahem... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Redundant?

      The first post of this nature and it's redundant?

      Relax buddy.

    2. Re:ahem... by Zathruss · · Score: 1

      Look up. The overlords have already arrived.

  8. SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by dpbsmith · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...Androids will not need to mimic human appearance, skin resilience and temperature, etc. with high fidelity.

    Human beings are sufficiently capable of anthropomorphizing... or empathizing... to treat even obviously non-humanoid things as human. (As witness the bonding between humans and pets).

    Robots only need to be reasonably human-like in appearance and behavior, and humans will meet them more than halfway.

    And, of course, and unfortunately, human beings are also capable of treating actual human beings as not human.

    --

    "How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!

    1. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by hellergood · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Agreed! :)

    2. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by syntaxeater · · Score: 1

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_Valley Disagreed :)

    3. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by hellergood · · Score: 1

      To clarify:

      I agree with this: "Human beings are sufficiently capable of anthropomorphizing... or empathizing... to treat even obviously non-humanoid things as human."

      And I likewise disagree with this: "Robots only need to be reasonably human-like in appearance and behavior".

    4. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by White+Flame · · Score: 1

      Human beings are sufficiently capable of anthropomorphizing... or empathizing... to treat even obviously non-humanoid things as human. (As witness the bonding between humans and pets).

      Forget pets, look at some guys and their cars. Though I'm not sure if the proper description is treating any of these examples "as human" or as a "peer", but it seems more to be a nurturing dependency sort of relationship going on, where the object needs you in order to stay in a state in which you can enjoy it.

    5. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      Robots only need to be reasonably human-like in appearance and behavior, and humans will meet them more than halfway.


      Yeah, I think on a practical level the only reason a general-purpose robot would need to be human-like is so that it can use existing tools and get around in our environment without needing any adaptations. The idea that it needs to be human-like simply to be socially accepted is silly (except for the sexbots, those will have to be pretty human-like).
      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    6. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by WhiteWolf666 · · Score: 1

      (except for the sexbots, those will have to be pretty human-like)

      Are sex toys human like?

      Perhaps a "love" bot will have to be human-like, but a sexbot could be a flying toaster with a variety of appendages, and I don't think it would matter.

      --
      WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
    7. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      Forget pets, look at some guys and their cars. Absolutely. Matter of fact my brother still claims that after one heavy night of partying his car must have driven him home on it's own. He woke up the next morning in the car sitting in the driveway.
      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    8. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are millions of sexbots in active duty right now. It is very rare for them to look like full humans, although some look like parts of humans.

    9. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well anyone who has used his laptop or for that matter the first computer, the first car or any other inanimate object will tend to start liking it for obvious reasons. YOu understand it intimately. When my laptop purrs i know the temp of the machine is a bit on the higher side and i picjk it up in my hands to cool it off...

      I just like the sounds of my machine, i know when it needs my attention, Help it with a shut down and what not..

      All this is part of the daily routine...

      Does it not soound familiar

    10. Re:SF writers got it wrong about "androids..." by vegiVamp · · Score: 1

      > Human beings are sufficiently capable of anthropomorphizing... or empathizing... to treat even obviously non-humanoid things as human.

      Yes. Now if only they would learn to treat other humans as human, as well.

      --
      What a depressingly stupid machine.
  9. Too bad Sony cancelled the QRIO... by Mysticalfruit · · Score: 3, Funny

    They looked like really slick pieces of technology. Though, if I ever got one, I'd be too tempted to program it to act like Gir...

    --
    Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
    1. Re:Too bad Sony cancelled the QRIO... by ajlitt · · Score: 1

      SpeechSynth voice( SPEAKER );
      while(1)
      {
        voice.say("DOOM");
        usleep(250000);
      }

    2. Re:Too bad Sony cancelled the QRIO... by dvice_null · · Score: 1

      > I'd be too tempted to program it to act like Gir...

      Gir?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gir_Cattle
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIR_(Invader_Zim)
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glider_Infantry_Regiment

    3. Re:Too bad Sony cancelled the QRIO... by splutty · · Score: 1

      The Invader Zim one :)

      "Give me tacos! Or I will explode.. That happens to me sometimes.."

      --
      Coz eternity my friend, is a long *ing time.
  10. Not surpised. by Thornburg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As the father of a 2 year old and a 4 year old, I am not at all surprised that the children behaved this way. Kids in that age group have very few prejudices, and have a very down to earth perspective, so if something looks and acts vaguely like they do, they treat it with respect (in their own way).

    Note that the researchers correlate treating something with some respect to treating it like a human. Many people (both children and adults) treat pets or other non-human animals in this manner.

    Robiticists are apparently excited by this, but I'm going to guess (based on the fairly short linked story (yes, I RTFA), that sociologists and/or psychologists will great this with a resounding "DUH!".

    (Disclaimer: I am not a roboticist, sociologist, or psychologist).

    1. Re:Not surpised. by cmdr_beeftaco · · Score: 1

      No prejudices? You must have good kids, my 4 year old won't eat red sauce. Not sure why if it is a sauce and red and not called ketchup won't eat it. Also my 6 year old has tendency to treat her 4 year like a horse/pony or a cat, rarely has a human.

    2. Re:Not surpised. by porcupine8 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As a not-yet-phd'ed proto-psychologist, here's how I'd put it: Kids this age are unclear on what has agency and what doesn't. They are also unclear on the division between themselves and other people - they think that everyone can see what they see, for instance, and knows what they are thinking or feeling to a certain extent and thinks/feels the same way. Add these two together, and they attribute agency to something that *acts* like other things with agency, plus assume that because it has agency, it thinks/feels/has the same needs as they do.

      --
      Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
    3. Re:Not surpised. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Might just be sensible. "Red sauce" that doesn't merit the name "ketchup" sounds like the abomination that is american "chocolate flavoured candy". Europeans don't put up with shit food. Why do americans?

    4. Re:Not surpised. by dosius · · Score: 1

      Because most of us haven't known or even seen real food for over 50 years?

      -uso.

      --
      What you hear in the ear, preach from the rooftop Matthew 10.27b
    5. Re:Not surpised. by iluvcapra · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's a very interesting reading, I think you have your thesis!

      This discussion of course brings up the case of Kismet the Robot, to which many fully mature adults display an emotional response. They may KNOW that the robot has no emotions itself, but a smiley face and big eyes that respond to even a small repertory of facial responses in the human is enough to create the impression of sympathy, and enough to elicit an unconscious smile back from the human.

      Getting people to attribute agency or emotions onto inanimate objects has a long history of course, just ask a Totem Pole ;). A lot of people are convinced their computer has a personality, after all.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    6. Re:Not surpised. by Belacgod · · Score: 1

      Marinara pasta sauce? Hardly an abomination.

    7. Re:Not surpised. by rozz · · Score: 1

      They are also unclear on the division between themselves and other people - they think that everyone can see what they see, for instance, and knows what they are thinking or feeling to a certain extent and thinks/feels the same way. that is not only valid for children, the vast majority of ppl act like that.
      how many of the ppl you know that truly understand that division and are capable of seeing the world through someone else's eyes?
      most ppl are totally baffled when they see others with diff opinions/feeling, basically because they cant understand the "division" you mentioned... and that is no small matter, adults Kill people that think/feel different (think religious wars)
      --
      "There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    8. Re:Not surpised. by porcupine8 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but that's on a much more abstract level. With kids, it's on the most literal level possible. At least when you cover an adult's eyes, they still realize that just because they can't see you doesn't mean you can't see them. And if you bring two adults into a room, hide an object, remove Adult A, and move the object to a new location, then ask Adult B where Adult A will look for the object, Adult B will realize that Adult A didn't see the object get moved and reply that A will look in the original location. Little kids very literally don't realize that other people can possess different knowledge than they do.

      --
      Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
    9. Re:Not surpised. by rozz · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but that's on a much more abstract level. With kids, it's on the most literal level possible. At least when you cover an adult's eyes, they still realize that just because they can't see you doesn't mean you can't see them. And if you bring two adults into a room, hide an object, remove Adult A, and move the object to a new location, then ask Adult B where Adult A will look for the object, Adult B will realize that Adult A didn't see the object get moved and reply that A will look in the original location. Little kids very literally don't realize that other people can possess different knowledge than they do. well, you seem to be pretty intimate with the psychology domain and i cant really match that, i have no psychology training.
      but still.
      you posted very interesting and to-the-point samples, but something just doesnt feel right.
      you mentioned a "more abstract level" at which the adults make the same mistake ... but i would say this stuff is not related to the level of abstractization, education or age ... i think the mistake has deeper roots, maybe as deep as the very basic instincts or the genetic code.
      e.g. .. combining my statement and yours will result in a conclusion like "kids dont realize that others have different knowledge/feelings and adults dont really accept it" ... so, pretty much everyone does it!
      most adults never accept others with diff ideas, and even the most intelligent ppl have to control themselves pretty hard in order to accept the differences ... the first/instinctive reaction when you hear someone with a different/oposite opinion is negative and no matter how well educated an adult, he will never completely accept ppl with different opinions.
      i would say this is because some very basic "trigger" somewhere in our physiology or psycology ... maybe connected with the reproductive instinct - e.g. the person with a diff opinion may be that "mutant" that will take over and end your gene-line and is automatically perceived as an adversary ... so children dont know/dont care about differences because the reproductive instinct is still "sleepy" and adults dont accept diff ppl in order to protect their gene-line.

      P.S.
      dont know if my blabla made any sense or if i stated things that u knew for years ... but this stuff sounds very interesting for me and i would thank you more than once if you can give me some related links/dokus.
      --
      "There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    10. Re:Not surpised. by Eli+Gottlieb · · Score: 1

      You haven't? So what the hell have you been cooking these past 50 years?

    11. Re:Not surpised. by dosius · · Score: 1

      Processed imitation processed imitation food product.

      -uso.

      --
      What you hear in the ear, preach from the rooftop Matthew 10.27b
  11. May I be the first to say... by the0 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Awwwww.

    "...and covering it up with a blanket when its batteries ran down."
  12. Awww...... by EjayHire · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Ok, maybe it's a girl thing, but kids putting a blanket over the robot when his batteries run down is about the sweetest thing I have ever heard.
    -e

    (and she notes that she called it "his", inferring gender to the asexual robot.)

    1. Re:Awww...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't think it's so sweet... The child was doing this because he/she thought it was dead. They failed to mention in the article that next the robot was chucked into a hole in the back yard and covered in dirt right next to the late Fluffy.

      No, I did not RTA. YMMV.

    2. Re:Awww...... by Eevee1 · · Score: 0

      No, I'd have to agree with you. Now all we have to hope is that parents don't record their kids doing it (covering the robot up) and show it to them on their first date.

    3. Re:Awww...... by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 1

      I'm a dad. It might not have been the sweetest thing I've heard, but I definitely sub-vocalized an "awww" when I read it. I thought that either of my kids would have done the same thing.

      --

      ---
      ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
    4. Re:Awww...... by mstahl · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nah it's not just you. I'm a guy and I seriously awww'd loud enough that the whole office took notice. It's seriously the most adorable thing I've read in a few days.

    5. Re:Awww...... by DerekLyons · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ok, maybe it's a girl thing, but kids putting a blanket over the robot when his batteries run down is about the sweetest thing I have ever heard.
       
      (and she notes that she called it "his", inferring gender to the asexual robot.)

      And he notes that the male pronoun is the default in the English language - and does not imply gender. (English lacks gender, unlike many other languages.)
    6. Re:Awww...... by vranash · · Score: 1

      Well obviously 'he', the robot didn't have a bustline!

      More seriously though I remember seeing a lot of this back when I was a little kid.. Mind you there were also vaguely sociopathic kids, who'd bite or hit you, sometimes AFTER stealing your toys. (I remember at least two different instances of this, I'm just glad it never made it through the skin, like EWWWWWW!) But a lot of kids would have special toys at the preschool, or home that they'd take care of, or find a bug or frog or what have you that they'd catch and protect for a while (and hope it acted like the one's on TV, talking or semi-intelligent or what have you.) Then usually end of the day or whatever let it go (And not just because their parents saw it and told them to either!)

    7. Re:Awww...... by JonathanR · · Score: 1

      WTF are the parents doing around while their kids are on their first date?

    8. Re:Awww...... by aphexcoil2 · · Score: 1

      Maybe they were just trying to dry it off after trying to get it to drink some juice.

    9. Re:Awww...... by feiteira · · Score: 1

      Probably a wrong assumption - statisticaly - the first ones to lay down are normaly females.

    10. Re:Awww...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And he notes that the male pronoun is the default in the English language - and does not imply gender. (English lacks gender, unlike many other languages.) The NOUNS of English have no gender, but pronouns 'he' and 'she' definitely have.

      'He' is used as the 'default' in abstract situations like "when man descended from trees, he needed other shelter from the predators", but when speaking about specific individuals, it implies male.

      Possibly you could say that 'he' stands for male AND unspecified gender - or you could say that male IS the default gender in English language cultures.
  13. I might not, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...at least they seem to be welcoming our new robotic overlords!

  14. No shit sherlock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah how bout that, human beings tend to anthropomorphize. Pathetic fallacy much? Why is this news?

  15. Curious by Cillian · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm curious as to whether the kids actually thought the robot was another kid or how much they understood what it was (I can't really remember how intelligent I was at that age...). I'd have thought a better way to make the kids take a consistent interest in the robot would be to make it do something useful, like, say, actually help in the classroom rather than just dance or giggle.

    --
    -- All your booze are belong to us.
  16. Not only that... by Shauni · · Score: 5, Insightful

    People are probably more likely to "socialize" with a robot if they can put it in its own separate category easily. Interacting with a non-human intelligence yet human container is bound to be disturbing (it's one of the sources of the uncanny valley)

    1. Re:Not only that... by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it's almost like:

      "Omg lol the magnets are afraid of each other, but when you turn one around, they're friends again!"

      ***

      "Hi, my name is Lt. Cmdr. Data, and I was constructed by ..."
      "fake!"

      --
      Apology to Ubuntu forum.
    2. Re:Not only that... by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      People are probably more likely to "socialize" with a robot if they can put it in its own separate category easily. Interacting with a non-human intelligence yet human container is bound to be disturbing (it's one of the sources of the uncanny valley)

      Assuming that the uncanny valley is anything but hot air. Which, to date, there isn't any reason to assume otherwise.
    3. Re:Not only that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Given that there are critical data points on the uncanny valley chart that we HAVE (ie, non-robotic human analogues), it's fair to say that there is some phenomenon similar to uncanny valley (a corpse is the more gruesome than both a puppet and a human, even though it's in the middle of the three in terms of realism, for example).

      The only unknown about uncanny valley is data for animated things; which adds in a whole slew of variables for realism (social interaction etc.). IANA Robotics expert, but it could have something to do with the expectations people have of something that looks human, which ceases to apply once it starts looking fake (meaning that the "valley" is not a valley, it's just two graphs that were made to join even though they should be treated as functions with limited range). You can imagine how this could apply to corpses - they look 100% realistic (fresh ones do, anyway) but do not act as a human should - the difference between how it looks like it should act and how it does act.
  17. Re:So? by Thornburg · · Score: 5, Informative

    Mod parent "Didn't RFTA". (aka Overrated)

    The researches had a control robot that didn't interact but was otherwise the same, and the kids treated them very differently.

    Half your point is valid, but the flippant comment is inaccurate and demonstrates that you didn't take the 90 seconds necessary to read the very short article.

  18. Re:I can just see it now... It will become a crime by dotancohen · · Score: 1

    Pet a Bot.... Just think of the Bots... In Soviet Russia, the bots pet you.
    --
    It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
  19. Do they have tea time with it as well? by night_flyer · · Score: 1

    because thats what children do... obviously these researchers dont have kids...

    --


    Thanks to file sharing, I purchase more CDs
    Thanks to the RIAA, I buy them used...
  20. Not even reasonably humanoid to love by ashitaka · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Not even that. Just take a couple of yellow sponge balls, stick them together, add a couple of simple eyes, a button nose and make it dance.

    Then you have the robot that everyone wants. (But can't have)

    --
    If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
    1. Re:Not even reasonably humanoid to love by psergiu · · Score: 1

      Gaaah !
      Now i want it too :(

      --
      1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
  21. i welcome our robot overlords by Techx9 · · Score: 0

    nt

  22. What does the "G" stand for? by ishpeck · · Score: 1

    GIR is the most loved character in that series.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invader_Zim

    --

    "If I were to ask you a hypothetical question, what would you like it to be about?"

  23. Alphie by kisrael · · Score: 4, Funny

    I was an only child in a neighborhood without many kids.
    I really liked "Alphie", this game playing robot (circa 1979).
    Had him for years, then let some other kids play with him and he broke.

    Lesson learned: other kids suck.

    --
    SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
  24. Right....But by shoma-san · · Score: 0

    they won't be treating it like a peer once Dr. Wierd switches the robot out with Rabbot...

  25. Night, night! by evought · · Score: 1

    Our toddler does this with the cats when they are passed out on the floor. She covers them with a blanket and brings over a stuffed animal. I think it is adorable. She also does this with the Tickle-Me-Elmo, incidentally, as long as it is off. She is terrified of the thing if it is turned on, to the extent that she will cower on the other end of the house. We have it out and off in the hopes she will eventually be accustomed to it. I really think the Tickle-Me-Elmo (My folks got her the "Extreme" edition.) is more of an adult toy anyway. It is funny to watch, but it is a lot for a toddler.

    1. Re:Night, night! by east+coast · · Score: 1

      Our toddler does this with the cats when they are passed out on the floor.

      Passed out? What the hell are you putting in their water dish?

      --
      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
    2. Re:Night, night! by stoolpigeon · · Score: 1

      antifreeze if he's smart.

      'mister my cat wont wake up. can you help me wake him up?'

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    3. Re:Night, night! by corychristison · · Score: 1

      I found the rum!

    4. Re:Night, night! by stoolpigeon · · Score: 1

      asstunnel would have been more timely and fit in better with your 'gtfo' web savvy acronym. just sayin'

      soon i'm gonna go home and cook up some chickens. dead chickens. - alright, now hit me with another one and do better this time.

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    5. Re:Night, night! by meringuoid · · Score: 1
      I really think the Tickle-Me-Elmo (My folks got her the "Extreme" edition)

      The Extreme Edition actually exists? Shit. I though Jhonen was joking...

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    6. Re:Night, night! by lahvak · · Score: 1

      Passed out? What the hell are you putting in their water dish?

      Probably valerian.

      --
      AccountKiller
    7. Re:Night, night! by lahvak · · Score: 1

      She also does this with the Tickle-Me-Elmo, incidentally, as long as it is off. She is terrified of the thing if it is turned on, to the extent that she will cower on the other end of the house.

      No kidding! I am terrified of that thing too. I find just a regular Elmo pretty frightening, the "tickle-me" variant is just plain scary.

      --
      AccountKiller
  26. Teddy-bears and dolls by rumli · · Score: 2, Informative

    Children have been hugging and caring for teddy-bears and dolls since forever. Dolls that talk or move get more attention. What's new?

  27. Paging Dr. Harlow by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1

    I wanted to find out what the kids' mother thought of all this, but she's made of wireframe.

    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  28. Kids 'n Roombas by bradgoodman · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I just love "researchers"....

    I don't know this study has anything to do with "robots". Children this age engage in all kinds of "imitative" play. And what are they imitating? Their parents - young kids (like mine) will feed, nurse, change, put to bed, their dolls, stuffed animals, etc. The "robot" is just another vehicle (no pun intended) for this.

    That being said, my kids love the Roomba. Before they could even walk, they knew exactly how to turn it on - and would crawl all over the kitchen, chasing it around! My 2-year old son would lie down next to it and put his arm around it! (Until he accidentally turned it on, and he ran screaming away from it smack into a door on the other side of the kitchen!)

    I was shocked the other day when I mentioned some thing about turning on the Roomba, and my 14-month old crawled over to it, pressed the "on" button, then the "clean" button - then when it made its "beep-beep-beep" (meaning it's about to start) - she quickly dropped to her hands and crawled quickly away from it, perfectly perpendicular to what would be it's travel-path off it's docking station. I shouldn't have been surprised, her second and third words were "Robot" and "Roomba"!

    So, they're toys like any other to the kids - but obviously a lot more fun! :-)

  29. Another old story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm pretty sure that this is last year's story; Sony dropped its robotic division, including the QRIO, last year. What appears to be the original paper was presented in September of 2006. Still a fun story, though.

  30. Am I the only person... by magical_mystery_meat · · Score: 0

    ...who finds it indescribably sad when children treat inanimate objects as friends?

    Stories like this, and things like toy ads where they describe the toy as "your new friend" really get to me. I wonder why.

    1. Re:Am I the only person... by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Would you feel better if the kids call their wooden doll as their "new friend"? This has been going on for as long as toys have existed.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    2. Re:Am I the only person... by magical_mystery_meat · · Score: 0

      That's exactly what I'm talking about, actually.

    3. Re:Am I the only person... by yoshi3 · · Score: 0

      My teddy bear is my best friend I 3 teddy

  31. Not Overlord but Peer by StCredZero · · Score: 1

    I guess that's the intermediate stage.

  32. Might even be better if they're not too close... by Asmor · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There's this concept of an "uncanny valley" where basically, something that's too close to human just looks totally off-putting.

    The name is based on a graph of "likability" vs. how realistic something looks... You see that things get more likable as they get closer to being indistinguishable from real, and then all of a sudden when they get very close, but not perfect, it suddenly dips down. As an example, many people find dolls creepy because they look very human-like.

    As always, Wikipedia has more on the subject and probably does a better job explaining it than I do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley

  33. Elmo is a peer by rupert0 · · Score: 0

    No I don't consider the kids thought it as another human .. we all consider this crazy toy a human at that age http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4x-VW_rCSE ermm Loook here is my point... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m3LwWWhXkc

    --
    RUPERT! I TOLD YOU TO WATCH THE BAGS! You were looking at the boys again, WEREN'T YOU.
  34. Re:I can just see it now... It will become a crime by davidsyes · · Score: 1

    Botsva*nya, Have some Tranya... It's not poisoned...

    --
    Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  35. Captain Obvious is on lines 3 and 4 by atari2600 · · Score: 1

    What about Mowgli? How is this a story? I like slashdot but this is just ridiculous.

    1. Re:Captain Obvious is on lines 3 and 4 by Bloodoflethe · · Score: 1

      It made national news. I suppose this makes it a story. Anyway, it doesn't hurt the two fields of robotics and psychology any, especially if they build on this to more advanced studies.

      --
      "Little is much when little you need."
  36. Astroboy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Astroboy!

  37. Re:So? by Roger_Wilco · · Score: 1

    Quite true that not just any creation will be interacted with well.

    The GP is, however, also right that people will ascribe intentionality to a fairly wide variety of creations. At one point I was working on a research mobile robot, and showing it off to some laypeople. The robot had gotten "stuck" in a corner (turning left moves closer to the wall, but so does turning right; no "back up" code yet). People said things like "it's trying to get out of the corner" and such. It's not "trying" anything, it's just following a set of equations (that I wrote) which are slightly too simple.

    I think being able to see that the robot is having "difficulty" gives people some empathy with its "plight". Probably the article's robot received this empathy since kids know that one can get cold if one "naps" without a blanket; they know what it's like to be in that situation.

  38. Re:So? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ewwwwwwww... BUSTED!

  39. Peers by Karl0Erik · · Score: 3, Funny

    Over time the children grew to treat the robot as one of them -- playing games with the robot, hugging it, and covering it up with a blanket when its batteries ran down.

    As a kid, I don't recall covering my friends with blankets when their batteries ran down.

    1. Re:Peers by neminem · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but if its batteries were dying, it'd look like it was falling asleep. Little kids put blankets over their friends who've decided to take a sudden nap, all the time - I've seen it.

  40. Good imprint by no-body · · Score: 1

    in early childhood that a robot is your peer (and does nothing wrong).

    Those early childhood memories are there, often deep in subconcious unless an individual does some kind of self-exploration.
    I am sure this kind of imprinting is noticed by the right people.

  41. This was done 20 years ago by TheGoodSteven · · Score: 1

    Clearly, researchers need to spend less time reading and more time watching crappy 80's sitcoms.

  42. Re:So that's why they elected GW Bush ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anthropomorphizing ... I finally got the reason why US's president is GW Bush. And mine's Sarkozy ...

    But I still wonder why they wouldn't have voted for a Human Being(tm) instead ...

    Disclaimer : I'm French !!!

  43. Human-assisted... by evilviper · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Just one very big problem:

    A human operator could also make the robot turn its gaze towards a child or wave as they went away.


    So it isn't just a robot, artificially intelligent enough to fool toddlers. It's something of a human-controlled puppet, with them telling it to do more advanced things than it could figure out on its own.

    So, I guess, basically a PR stunt for Sony.
    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    1. Re:Human-assisted... by timeOday · · Score: 1

      The paper says the operator sent the robot an average of 1 byte every 141 seconds, so it's hardly a puppet. Also, Sony never sold the QRIO, and discontinued development in Jan. of 2006, so the financial motivation for Sony is small.

    2. Re:Human-assisted... by ChrisA90278 · · Score: 1

      Yes the robot was more of a puppet then anything else. But the purpose was NOT to make useful machine. The purpose of the experiment was to determine just how interactive a robot would need to be before it was accepted by the children. For this a puppet is perfect. The reasearchers got their data and by using a puppet did not need to construct a sophisticated robot controller

  44. Kids? by xPsi · · Score: 1

    Over time the children grew to treat the robot as one of them -- playing games with the robot, hugging it, and covering it up with a blanket when its batteries ran down. Children? Robots? Us Mac users are already quite familiar with this effect.
    --
    i\hbar\dot{\psi}=\hat{H}\psi
  45. yeah my 9 mo. old ... by pbhj · · Score: 1

    Well of course now my kids 9 months he doesn't switch the roomba on. He's programmed his lego mindstorms to do that for him when the dirt-sensor detects the lowered reflectivity of the floor ...

    [Sorry, couldn't help it. Kids _are_ amazing. Our lad's 2-and-a-third and can switch on mobile phone, plug in and switch on (or off!) appliances, use the CD player, make a cube of chocolate cover a square metre ... he's a bit of a wimp though so I think roomba would be too hard for him!]

    On the article. Summary: kids like to interact with stuff. Basically the rest of the behaviour is standard (eg J has been known to kiss and hug a small toy train or helicopter, and encourage me to too; things that stop moving have "gone to bed, night night", etc.).

  46. super toys last all summer long... by __aapspi39 · · Score: 1

    When i were a lad, we was grateful to have a sandpit in classroom - and we were happy!

  47. reduced to the same concept by recharged95 · · Score: 1
    Human imagination/creativity adds life to anything.

    Worked for Tom Hanks with that volleyball thingy-ama-gig.

    1. Re:reduced to the same concept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Human imagination did not make me cry when wilson floated away...

      I miss wilson.

  48. Awesom-O by Tomfrh · · Score: 1

    Hey there have you heard about my robot friend?
    He's metal and small and doesn't judge me at all.
    He's a cyberwired bundle of joy.
    My robot friend.

    I like to dip and daddle with my robot friend.
    He's smart as can be and emotion-free
    And he's computin' his way to my heart.
    My robot friend.
    My robot friend.
    My robot friend.
    My robot ...friend.

    1. Re:Awesom-O by fractoid · · Score: 1

      He's your plastic pal who's fun to be with!!

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  49. If we really want to see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... if it responds as though the robot was another child,
      program the robot to grab the other kid's toys and not share.

    Other children are not "three laws safe" !

  50. Re:So? by Hatta · · Score: 2, Insightful

    People said things like "it's trying to get out of the corner" and such. It's not "trying" anything, it's just following a set of equations (that I wrote) which are slightly too simple.

    What's the difference?

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  51. Re:I can just see it now... It will become a crime by blacklagomorph · · Score: 1

    I think the word you're looking for is paedobot, and yes whatever you're intending it for is criminal.

  52. Don't drop me, I'll break by Token_Internet_Girl · · Score: 1

    Why am I overwhelmed with the same sickly disgusting cuteness I felt watching that creepy robotic bear in "A.I"?

    --
    Sure baby, I'll give you my phone number...in Hex
  53. Eventually ... by PPH · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... robots will become so lifelike that the teachers will try to have sex with them.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  54. A robot that's a kid.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    now that would be a small wonder.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukSvjqwJixw

  55. Re:I can just see it now... It will become a crime by fractoid · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Oh, but is it? And why? Knowing that some people innately prefer children, that humans find it almost impossible to completely control or suppress their sex drive, and that we can't just kill pedophiles out of hand when they are discovered - logically such a device would end up saving children from molestation? Let's assume a pedophile starts with a Roomba, and adds to it piece by piece until it resembles an animatronic underage Real Doll - at what point does it become illegal?

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  56. Robots as peers? Where have wee seen this before? by Bushido+Hacks · · Score: 1

    I mean, it's not like there was an animated series, an 80s TV sitcom, or some movie featuring that kid from The Sixth Sense or Alan Thick. Was there? As long as they don't have access to a dematerializing gun, I guess it's all right.

    --
    The Rapture is NOT an exit strategy.
  57. duh! by Samarian+Hillbilly · · Score: 1

    My daughter treats her non-robotic dolls the same. What is this supposed to prove? That humans are robots? That robots are human? That we've passed the turing test? As far as my daughter is concerned Barbie passed the turing test last year!

  58. Re:They do the same with a dog.. cuz they're peers by adatepej · · Score: 1

    Why do you say that?

    Why not say that they see the dogs as a peer -- and see the robots like they see the dogs, as peers? They're nearly at the same intelligence level, and are definitely nearly as functional as other children as playmates. The same -- and this doesn't make either dogs or kids look too good -- can be said of little robots. Not all kids (obviously), but very young children.

    So apparently robots, dogs, and kids interact on roughly the same level... or, in other words, dogs and little robots are developed enough as social animals to entertain each other.

    At the very least, some youngsters can be described as having a peer relationship with little robots and dogs.

  59. Movellan by The+Wicked+Priest · · Score: 1

    Am I the only one to notice that in TFA, they quoted "Javier Movellan" -- "Movellan" being the name of the android race at war with the Daleks in "Destiny of the Daleks"?

    --
    Share and Enjoy: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  60. I can hear it now... by maciarc · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Teacher, I gave Robby my milk cause he didn't have any. Now he's making funny noises..."

  61. Number 5 is alive! by ari_j · · Score: 1

    Whoever did the "nodisassemble" tag, y'all're geniuses. I'm going to bed with a smile tonight, thanks.

  62. The toddler Turing test by Nazlfrag · · Score: 1

    Computing has now passed the toddler Turing test. Seeing Skynet's been operational for quite a while now, it's about time the robots caught up.

  63. Teddy-bears and Daggets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually when I read the story. Dagget of Battlestar Galactica fame popped to mind.

  64. Re:I can just see it now... It will become a crime by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it currently illegal to "molest" a real-doll if the real-doll looks like a child? There are clearly different rules for inanimate objects; you can't get charged with rape for "molesting" a real-doll, even though it's less than 18 years old (statutory) and didn't explicitly say "yes" (regular). I think GPP is wrong in that it's (currently) illegal to have sex with a robot child (since they don't have the same laws protecting them as humans/animals do) - although they may pass a law in the future (the idea of even simulating pedophilia is disturbing enough for a politician to try and score votes off of).

  65. Choices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... I can see arguments of who is better be pals with, C3P0 or R2D2.

  66. Obligatory reference by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

    BENDER:
    Well, Fry, it was a pleasure meetin' you.
    I'm gonna go kill myself.

    FRY:
    Wait! You're the only friend I have.

    BENDER:
    You really want a robot for a friend?

    FRY:
    Yeah. Ever since I was six.

  67. healthy fear of robots by Jess+(geek-chick) · · Score: 1

    Our toddler is terrified of anything that has human qualities and talks, and she's had the TME around for almost a year now. She can play with it, as long as we're in the room with her and it's turned off, but as soon as she hears it, she will run to one of us (although she loves watching Elmo on TV). Same thing with a doll that talks. Once I accidentally knocked it and it started singing, and even though she was in the other room taking a bath, she was scared and had to be reassured that it wasn't coming in. It's just amazing to me that it's only things that look human, or at least human-ish with a face. We think she's just got some kind of knowledge about fearing robots for when the Robot Overlords come.

    --
    If anyone needs me, I'll be in the Angry Dome.
  68. Re:I can just see it now... It will become a crime by sexconker · · Score: 1

    Pedobear replaced by Pedobot?

  69. Re:So? by xappax · · Score: 1

    "Trying" sort of implies intentionality, like the robot has a desire to get out of the corner, and it's ineffectively trying to accomplish whatever goal humans want it to. In reality, the robot is doing exactly what it was designed to do, and doesn't have any opinions or feelings whatsoever about being stuck in the corner.

  70. Re:I can just see it now... It will become a crime by davidsyes · · Score: 1

    "Let's assume a pedophile starts with a Roomba, and adds to it piece by piece until it resembles an animatronic underage Real Doll - at what point does it become illegal?"

    I know..

    1. When it becomes a synthetic human (self-aware, sentient, basically... if we can morally and technologically accept that despite the existence or non-existence of "God", that human recreation is by the hand of humans, whether by organ-to-organ contact, or by test tube/in-vitro.

    2. When the "Real Doll" becomes a REAL DOLL, as in

    http://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/natural_city.htm

    http://www.shuqi.org/asiancinema/reviews/naturalcity.shtml

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378428/

    (I have the DVD and enjoy it enough to re-watch almost monthly. It's worth the ~$20.)

    At that point, if the Dolls in real life have technological or material lifespans, extended only by theft of a real human's DND/brain matter, then, at that point, it DEFINITELy should be illegal, whether the stolen matter is child or adult. (Not sure if I want to venture into the area of taking matter from an invalid or comatose/vegetative person. But, for a freshly dead body.... hmmm... Then again, when does the "soul" vacate the body or the "scene", and will it become a malevolent or hungry ghost upon finding out its former body was appropriated by force or after its death for carnal pleasure of unrestrained human beings?)

    Hungry Ghost:

    http://www.google.com/search?q=hungry+ghost&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

    --
    Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  71. Re:I can just see it now... It will become a crime by fractoid · · Score: 1

    At that point, if the Dolls in real life have technological or material lifespans, extended only by theft of a real human's DND/brain matter, then, at that point, it DEFINITELy should be illegal, whether the stolen matter is child or adult. Um... whaaa? You're saying it's fine to rape a paedobot but it's not ok to rape an EVIL MUTANT ZOMBIE paedobot?
    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  72. Re:So? by fractoid · · Score: 1

    Again, what's the difference? Unless you're positing some supernatural aspect to human intentionality, we're just following a vastly more complicated set of equations that evolved by chance and natural selection. The only difference in mechanism is one of scale.

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  73. Sherry Turkle already reported this 1984 by MattCC · · Score: 1

    This is not much different to observations Sherry Turkle reported in her 1984 book The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit. Way back then she noted that young children had trouble deciding whether even simple electronic toys were alive. She proposed that when a toy could be taken apart to see the physical mechanism, children recognise it as merely an artefact. But when the behaviour is controlled via some computer chip, they are more likely to attribute it with "life".

  74. Re:I can just see it now... It will become a crime by davidsyes · · Score: 1

    Honestly, I haven't yet looked up "paedobot". Not sure what it is or might mean if it shows up in my company's IT surfing logs. I guess i could wikipedia it and find out...

    But, as for raping an organic being... not good. If it's a pure, out and out machine, like a bicycle, go for it. If it's been programmed to FEEL, know right from wrong, communicate, and defend itself, then basically it's expected to ACT like or interact WITH humans, then it should be respected. If it is able to express awareness and self-preservation, or doesn't reject the notion of self-preservation, self-derived or instructed, then it should be respected. Raping, beating, taunting, or destroying it would be a no-no.

    But, if it's a submarine, and you're the only sentient being aboard it, and you KNOW it's about to unleash a nuclear disaster, then, by all means KILL the fucker. Doesn't matter which country owns it. If it's a war machine, it should NEVER be accorded sentience nor allowed to assert nor discover it. Some things should be implements, and some things not in the weaponry category should be explored.

    By the same token, we're treading a gray area. Humans ARE machines. We're just organic, as if that somehow makes us better, different, or more deserving of rights. If a soldier is raping or brutalizing non-uniformed, presumed non-combatants, (I'm not talking about people defending their home turf, and I certainly don't call home-/at-home defenders 'insurgents' or 'cowards' or 'enemy combatants') then, by all means arrest or kill such soldiers who rape, kill, mutilate or go off making up their own missions. By the SAME token, the command authority FOR those soldiers (human or machine) and their sources of information should likewise be held accountable and subjected to the same rigors AND horrors experienced by non-excessive or even aggressive soldiers' pains.

    That was dangerously off-topic, but given todays climate, delving into machines and sentience should NEVER exclude humans as being machines. If you can be ordered around and you say, "yessir!, how high, siR? kill WHICH ONES, sir? Aye, siR. Nuke'm. Nuke'm TWICE. Aye, SIR!" then you too are just a machine-- in the category of needing to be closely monitored.

    --
    Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  75. Re:So? by xappax · · Score: 1

    The difference is that because they're mistakenly projecting human-like intentionality onto the robot, the observers are likely to expect it to act human-like in other ways. Basically, the fact that they think the robot is "trying" is a good indication of how they think the robot works, and how they will expect it to behave in other situations.

    Since we're wired to relate with and react to other animals, it's much easier for us to think "Oh, that thing's movements are similar to an animal's, so it probably behaves like an animal" than "Oh, that thing is making alternating 60 degree turns with a 2 second pause between them, it must have an instruction set that is looping." However the latter analysis gives a much better basis for predicting how the robot will behave in general.