Robot Love Goes Bad

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Posted by samzenpus on Monday March 9, 2009 @06:54AM from the become-my-robot-bride dept.

hundredrabh writes "Ever had a super needy girlfriend that demanded all your love and attention and would freak whenever you would leave her alone? Irritating, right? Now imagine the same situation, only with an asexual third-generation humanoid robot with 100kg arms. Such was the torture subjected upon Japanese researchers recently when their most advanced robot, capable of simulating human emotions, ditched its puppy love programming and switched over into stalker mode. Eventually the researchers had to decommission the robot, with a hope of bringing it back to life again."

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turn it off by tritonman · 2009-03-09 06:57 · Score: 3, Funny

Yea, but unlike that ex-girlfriend, I was now allowed to turn her off. You can kill a robot, you can't kill an annoying girlfriend.
1. Re:turn it off by vishbar · 2009-03-09 07:03 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Hans Reiser begs to differ.
  
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  Ride the skies
2. Re:turn it off by rjhubs · 2009-03-09 11:51 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I was now allowed to turn her off.
  I am pretty sure you were able to turn off your ex-girlfriend as well
Scientifically Speaking ... by eldavojohn · 2009-03-09 06:58 · Score: 4, Insightful

Toshiba Akimu Robotic Research Institute
It's awfully convenient I can't find anything on this place in English aside from news stories ... are there any Japanese speakers that can translate that to Japanese and search for it?

I think that there is a visible line between actual robotic research and novelty toys shop. I'm going to put this in the latter unless someone can provide evidence of some progress being made here. I'm getting kind of tired of these stories with big claims and no published research for review. If you're looking to make money, go ahead and sell your novelty barking dogs that really urinate on your carpet ... just don't try to veil it in a news story with claims of artificial affection being implemented.

I think IGN and everyone else really embellished on this and no one did their homework.

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My work here is dung.
1. Re:Scientifically Speaking ... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-09 07:21 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  You're right to be suspicious, it's completely a hoax:
  
  Update: The story is a fake, and the robot shown is actually of a Japanese medical robot. Thanks tipster!
The lesson by halivar · 2009-03-09 06:58 · Score: 4, Insightful

Program a robot to think like a human, and they will begin acting like a human. It's amazing no one ever thinks about the negative aspects of this.
1. Re:The lesson by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-09 07:44 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  All we need now is teach the robot how to deal with rejection ;)
  I don't need a robot to deal with my erection. I can handle that myself.
  What? Rejection? Are you sure?
  *squints at screen*
  Sorry. My eyesight isn't what it used to be. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go shave my palms.
2. Re:The lesson by k_187 · 2009-03-09 08:01 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  No, no I have not. I saw that really bad movie with Will Smith though. I really should catch up on my classic Sci-Fi.
  
  --
  11 was a racehorse
  12 was 12
  1111 Race
  12112
3. Re:The lesson by hazem · 2009-03-09 08:02 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  In the short-story collection, "I, Robot", the story "Liar" is about just that situation. Through some deviation in the manufacturing process a robot has the ability to read minds.
  This leads the robot to have a more expansive interpretation of the first law because it can perceive emotional harm in addition to mere physical harm. Hilarity ensues. Actually not...
  But it's a good story. This concept also plays out in one of the novels, I think, "Naked Sun".
  A non-mind-reading robot wouldn't be able to perceive emotional harm so would not be inhibited from doing things emotionally harmful until they manifest in some way detectable by the robot.
  If you happen to like audiobooks, there is a great version of "I, Robot" read by Scott Brick. I highly recommend it. (http://www.amazon.com/I-Robot-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0739312707/)
4. Re:The lesson by Chris+Mattern · 2009-03-09 08:09 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The way Asimov wrote it, less advanced robots weren't smart enough to see the subtler "harms". More advanced ones could weigh courses of action to take the one that would inflict the least amount of harm possible. Although deadlock and burnout of the positronic brain could and did happen.
5. Re:The lesson by Rollgunner · 2009-03-09 11:30 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Favorite Three Laws moment: After some robots are told to restrain the protagonist, he puts a gun to his own head and tells them if they come any closer, he will kill himself...
  
  They must act to prevent harm to humans, but if they act, he will be harmed, but they have to prevent that, so they must act. But if they act, he will be harrrrrrgggxxxkkkktttt *pop*
6. Re:The lesson by fractoid · 2009-03-09 12:42 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  In fact, weren't a lot of the stories about the ways that the older, less nuanced Three Laws failed to be useful as robots became more advanced? Eventually the more advanced robots derived the 'zeroth law', which was essentially that humans were better off without quasi-omnipotent mechanical godlings as servants.
  
  --
  Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
GPP feature? by Zaphod-AVA · 2009-03-09 07:00 · Score: 5, Funny

"...their most advanced robot, capable of simulating human emotions..."
Arthur- "Sounds ghastly!"
Marvin- "It is. It all is. Absolutely ghastly."
Nonsense by Kell+Bengal · 2009-03-09 07:06 · Score: 5, Insightful

I have never read such utter drivel in all my life. There was a problem with the code and a researcher got trapped - this doesn't mean the robot is lovesick, it means their OH&S has a serious problem. Really, she should not have been working alone with potentially dangerous hardware like that - powerful robots (capable of lifting humans, like this one) can be deadly.
YIAARTYVM (Yes, I Am A Roboticist, Thank You Very Much) and I've worked with potentially lethal automated systems in the past - we had very stringent safety protocols in place to protect students and researchers in the case of unintended activation of the hardware.
To say that the robot is 'love stricken' or any other anthropomorphised nonsense simply detracts from the reality that their safety measures failed and someone could have been killed.

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Later that evening... by MaxwellEdison · 2009-03-09 07:21 · Score: 4, Funny

The robot then escaped captivity, broke into a local mechanic's garage and consumed half a 55-gallon drum of waste oil. It was later seen on the other side of town, tottering into a closed department store. Authorities found the automaton in the housewares section, laying on the floor in an Abort/Retry/Fail loop and trying to fuck a toaster. Lifetime has picked up the rights to the TV movie adaptation. The robot will be played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, while the toaster will be voiced by Rosie Perez.

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-=Bang Bang=-
Oh come on... by gooman · 2009-03-09 08:13 · Score: 4, Funny

Ever had a super needy girlfriend...
Right there, first sentence, I was lost. Girlfriend? Huh?
This is slashdot, right? Oh look, shiny robot. Neat!

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"Kittens give Morbo gas!"
Re:Skynet jilted!@ by fractoid · 2009-03-09 12:43 · Score: 4, Funny

What are you talking about? It sent out literally MILLIONS of emails all saying "I LOVE YOU" and how many replies did it get? HUH?

--
Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.