What IS a robot and what is it you?

[Glip]

I think there's need for a general definition of Robot then, before we can proceed on their benefits. (I'm totally on team Yea For Robots, but it seems when I speak to my friends they come up with that tadpole-like thing, which we all agree on is just creepy)

So:
According to the Robot Institute of America (1979) a robot is: "A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks."

According to Webster: a robot is "an automatic device that performs functions normally ascribed to humans or a machine in the form of a human."

My definition would be:
"A machine that is capable of doing work, physically or mentally, to support or in some cases replace work that can not be done by humans and has the intelligence to independently learn about the work, improve the work and advise on the work."

I am strongly of the opinion that the most benefit we can have from robots are their ability to be stronger and quite simply, if they ever become sentient, quicker thinkers in terms of exact sciences. I'm not afraid any robot will surpass a human in psychology, ethics or philosophy.

What are your definitions?

[lynn]

anything metal that wants to kill me?
I don't know how to define it, we all have a picture in our head of what a robot is, but to put exact words to it... do you know how hard it is to truly define anything? We did one of those excercises in class; define a table. Almost impossible.

[Gilberto]

Robots were originally defined as servants of man in Rossum's, but the Rossum robots were synthetic reproductions of biological beings, more like the Bishop android in ALIENS than a mechanical man like Data. In that sense genetically engineered beings like clones could be a form of robots. Any creature created by man as a servant would be a robot by the original understanding of the term.

The term robot, I believe, was popularized as a reference to mechanical men by Isaac Asimov, who also created the three laws commonly associated with robots. He didn't invent the idea, though; it goes back at least as far as Metropolis, which is the first classical robot I can think of in movies. Since then scifi gave us the robot as a pop culture icon, which at first were flamboyant sidekicks and later became a metaphor for our innate fear that technology has run amok.

So should that be our model? Robots must be machines? Sounds fair. So here we go...

A robot is a machine, most commonly a mechanical representation of a biological being.

A robot must be autonomous. A remote controlled device or implement requiring human guidance doesn't count.

A robot must be able to perform tasks without the assistance of a human.

A robot must be able to learn on its own, drawing from experience and not just information fed to it.

An advanced robot must be capable of abstract thought, and eventually even self awareness.

Simple robots already exist. Eventually they will evolve from tools to servants and be regarded the way we regard pets.

Advanced robots are what's at issue. Once they're capable of free thought they'll be entitled to free will, and using them as servants would be akin to slavery.

[gretl]

My personal definition of robot: a machine that can act without direct human intervention even if it's only by following a set of pre-programmed rules (which can get quite complex.)

Oct 19, 2010 16:41:36 GMT -5 Gilberto said:

A robot must be able to learn on its own, drawing from experience and not just information fed to it.

An advanced robot must be capable of abstract thought, and eventually even self awareness.

Right now I would say that advanced robot starts with the previous stage. Seems like there are new reports about projects working on the "learn on its own" part every week lately. But I don't think we're quite there yet.

[Gilberto]

Not yet. I think being an automaton meets the criterion for a basic robot. Thinking and learning would be considered advanced. That's something a lot of humans don't seem to be able to do.

[lynn]

that's why we'll be helpless to stop them, like lambs to the slaughter.
I mean, sorry, positiveness, that's why they'll be a helpful compliment to our deaths. I mean Lives. Bollocks, I can't do optimism guys, sorry!