Why is a robot Evil?

AI is feared for one reason only. Human inherently fear the unknown, just have a look around ATS and you will see unreasonable fear about all sorts of stuff(alongside some reasonable fears as well).

agreed but i also think it is their own lack of hope/doubt of the past that such fear rises from , not so much the unknown...it is internal doubt that creates conflict and confusion and mistrust to make way for change and acceptance.

what makes me part robot, is that i apply reasoning or analytical logic to thinking in a pattern like stucture, just like a machine does, however i also incorporate emotion, compassion, and quite a few other mysterious processes that make logic a shallow process in resemblance. and no thank you , but im too young for pacemakers and do not wish it upon anyone.


[edit on 7-2-2005 by stockbender]

what makes me part robot, is that i apply reasoning or analytical logic to thinking in a pattern like stucture, just like a machine does, however i also incorporate emotion, compassion, and quite a few other mysterious processes that make logic a shallow process in resemblance. and no thank you , but im too young for pacemakers and do not wish it upon anyone.

Sorry bout that I misunderstood So you try to think like an Emotional Vulcan eh? I've always wondered how hard that would be to achieve, to strike a balance between your base urges and your analytical self. What are your techniques that you apply to achieve this end? Mind excercizes? Math Problems? I'm intruigued.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Since the beginning of science fiction and certainly film, the robot has been imbued with evil, and I have often wondered why...

(snip)

...I would like to hear peoples thoughts on just why Robots are Evil?

A few thoughts on the subject:

1.) I think it's largely just a literary device that has only really come into play in the last century. Previous to this one found the same thing about Nature. Legends and stories about Vampires, Werewolves, Faeries, etc, are largely due in part to misunderstandings about the realities of nature. It was a way to turn our fears into anthropomorphic personifications of things we did not understand. Since the late 1800's, nature has been more and more understood, and less fearsome, but something new arose to take its place--technology. Most people don't understand technology very well at all, and those that do don't understand nearly as much as they think they do. So the fears arising around technology are merely a few generations of transferrence from one fear to another. Most stories can be broken down into

Man vs. Man
Man vs. God
Man vs. Himself
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Machine

The "Man vs. Machine" has not been around for very long, except in the rarest of circumstances, perhaps about 100 years or so, when science fiction was only just beginning to gain acceptance as a literary form. Give us another few hundred years and we'll find something else to be scared of.


2.) I believe such stories also serve as warnings, much like the fables of old. In regards to robots specifically, I refer you to Mary Shelly's Frankenstein (the book, not the movie), where Dr. Frankenstein has effectively created "artificial life". Through his disgust and mistreatment of his creation, the creation becomes evil and turns on its master. In the book, the "monster" is not a lurching, groaning oaf. He is an agile, quick, intelligent being who in many ways supercedes humanity. This creation might have proven to be a valuable ally or close companion of Frankenstein, but for the mistreatment he received. The warning here is threefold: don't start what you can't finish, don't create artificial life unless you intend to be a "good god", and if you do create it, don't abuse it.

A robot is Evil for the same reason a toaster is Evil. You do not need it.

Let me explain further.

From a Native viewpoint, it is Evil to do anything you do not need to. Rather like the Taoist directive, 'do nothing which is not necessary'.

Why?

Our Ancestors left us a series of guidelines called the Original Instructions. They circumscribe Native life in a way which protects the environment in which all Beings live together. They tell us, for example, that while we understand the concept of the wheel, we may use it for toys but not for transport. The use of the wheel for transport is limited to Those Who Travel The Sky To Destroy Enemy Gods, and the wheel is not to be used by the average man- for environmental reasons. If you think about it, and look at the world we have created where the fish and the trees are dying, you will see that the widespread use of the wheel is Evil.

We are asked to meditate on the consequences of actions before we undertake them.

Robot:
Create worker population. Locate metal ores. Mine them. Locate fuels. Mine them. Locate clay. Burn firebricks. Build smelter. Smelt metals. Form metals. Locate petroleum. Refine petroleum. Make plastics. Form plastics. Locate silica deposits. Mine silica. Grow blanks. Make chips. Construct robots. Program robots. Worker population is now surplus. Allow them leisure, or eliminate them.

So you can see that the construction of Robots will enslave men, destroy rivers and lakes, pollute the air and kill living beings. The creation of robots will render men- the ultimate biotech servants of the Gods- redundant and unnecessary. From a Native viewpoint, the creation of a Robot should be done only if needed for travel among the stars in protection of Mother Earth- and not for cleaning your rug.

Our Elders tell us that there was a reason for the division between Gods and Men: the Earth cannot long sustain the desires of Gods- and their Golems.

[edit on 7-2-2005 by Chakotay]

Astro-Boy wasn't evil and neither were the transformers,well atleast the autobots weren't...no seriously though it's because they don't have a soul.

Hello to all the people in the forum, im new here so i want to colaborate with something. (first of all sorry for my BAD english)
I don't see the robot's like something "evil" or "bad"; I see the robots like "David" in the film "A.I." more like our "assistants"... there are people most dangerous out there than anything else so the robots don't like to bad at all for me ...
Those are my two cents

(again sorry for my spelling )

"Are they among us?"
"No. We don't have the technology to detect them."

The robot designers is the good or evil one. They are the ones who envisioned how the robot will run the software designed by the evil developer. I've always wondered why Robocop was so violent and weapons on a robot are bound to go wrong.

Azimo is a fine example of robot technology, and the realism to the appearance of a man in the suit is a start. There will be a point where many people will not think twice as that is the aim on creating human like robots. This make it easier for many people (who are not so technologically minded) to accept that robots can be made to emulate human behaviour and thought.

Artificial intelligence can also fool people in to thinking they are communicating, via the senses, that they have a mind. How would you know if a robot is a robot if it didn't look like a robot? The evolution of robotics leans towards being more human like.

What would freak me out is if I realised that I was talking to a electronic operator that emulated perfect converstational speech and facial expression, such as empathy. Voice recognition is the start of that, though I don't think that A.I. emulate humans, but rather give the desired perception.

Obviously, this has been explored in fiction, though it is not the physical aspect that worries me, but the inteded communications of such devices by the owners (humans).

Obviously, this has been explored in fiction, though it is not the physical aspect that worries me, but the inteded communications of such devices by the owners (humans).

Well what worries me more is that when the day arrives that an AI can pass the Turing Test and show it is self aware(I'm not sure they are one and the same) then no Human should own a self aware Android. That is slavery plain and simple.

Robots can not be slaves, but extremely well behaved servants much like in Japan, as they can not have emotions and never willl. They would be only be able to perceive (receive) and express (give) emulated emotion. For example, is a robot is struck violently, then it may express being hurt, but really isn't. It only matter what the human feels, and the robot reflects that.

Originally posted by spadesy
Robots can not be slaves, but extremely well behaved servants much like in Japan, as they can not have emotions and never willl. They would be only be able to perceive (receive) and express (give) emulated emotion. For example, is a robot is struck violently, then it may express being hurt, but really isn't. It only matter what the human feels, and the robot reflects that.

You are making the assumption that they will always stay automotons. I disagree. We as humans are only biological machines. Biomimicry is a rea science these days and I imagine that one day we will manage to create self-aware synthatic life. The is really no rational arguement that can be made against this. The "They don't have a soul so they cannot feel emotions" argument does not hold weight with me, as there is absolutely no evidance such a thing exists. As for phsical pain reflexes we could build it in, it would be increadibly complicated though. Nothing in the laws of physics prevents it, because we exist. Animals are pretty much the same except "less" complicated.

[edit on 8-2-2005 by sardion2000]

I would agree that its mans fear of the unknown that robots are shown as evil or at best suspect. Its much easier to sell an idea or manipulate people with fear. I think the media is more interested in the selling products, which is why so much of media is rooted in fear. But thats not to say there arent those who would use the fear of technology to manipulate peoples opinions.

But as someone also suggested that its evil because its not necessary, I would go a bit further and in place of the toaster example i would use calculator. While it does have a very good use, it can cripple a person who comes to rely on it to perform the most basic calcualtions.

So also the fear of what can be done when not thinking. Who would want to see any government with a robot military or even robot police force?

Originally posted by sardion2000

You are making the assumption that they will always stay automotons. I disagree. We as humans are only biological machines. Biomimicry is a rea science these days and I imagine that one day we will manage to create self-aware synthatic life. The is really no rational arguement that can be made against this.

'Biological machines' is a shallow definition as plants, like Venus Fly traps for example, that would be describe as that. There is far more to be learned about humans, animals and insects.

It really is the way we imagine and understand robots, in the present, that allow us to accept robots. How does one know another is a robot?


[edit on 9-2-2005 by spadesy]

Originally posted by mrwupy

Originally posted by Seekerof
I'm having a hard time with 'evil' being applied to a robot or artificial intelligence, despite how Hollywood wishes to portray them. A robot would simply be amoral, having no moral standards or principles other than subroutines and govening amoral protocols and failsafes.

seekerof

Exactly. Good and evil, moral or immoral are concepts that were set as a standard for mankind. There are no evil robots.

An example:

I spend a week building a fishing dock. I use my trusty hammer to drive in the nails and make the dock secure. The day after I finish the dock i head out for the first time to do some fishing and my neighbor is already out on my dock reeling them in. I take my trusty hammer and stove in his skull.

Is my trusty hammer now immoral or evil?

No, its not. Its still just a tool that I can use to build a dock or kill a neighbor.

Morality or immorality, good and evil, applies only to mankind. It's a set of laws we have put in place to keep the peace, grow together and survive. It does not apply to anything else but ourselves.

There are no evil robots.

Love and light,

Wupy

The hammer still wouldnt be evil, it would be you sir, the one bashing the hammer in your so called neighbors head, lol