Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

This was the key theme of only the second episode of the new cop drama Almost Human. I agree with you. However, I think there is a more immediate market in industry, and one that doesn't require nearly as complex robots.


Almost Human has been on my list of things to watch, I suppose I should move it up a notch. The industrial market will undoubtedly be served first by this (and Google's probably carefully avoiding any hint of what I suggested -- heck, I already got downvoted for merely mentioning the possibility), but I'm pretty sure it will happen. The ethical implications are interesting to say the least. Complexity is interesting, too. Historically, it's always been better to have specialised programming for the domain of use. Industrial/manufacturing purposes would indeed be a nicely delineated area. Once you make androids that have to deal with humans on a human level, pretty much all limits are gone as the entire gamut of human behaviour needs to be dealt with and a portion of it simulated. I suppose a sexbot of some kind is possible without being too complicated, just don't expect it to cook you dinner afterwards. Perhaps too much complexity would actually be detrimental in this case, as no sane person has yet worried about whether their blowup-doll likes them or has a good time. Moral and ethical issues will arise. But that hasn't stopped humanity in the past.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: