The Robot Dog Fetches for Whom?

Abstract

This chapter assumes that robots are not sentient. They do not have a conscious experience of self. They are, however, capable of imitating being sentient and having emotions. Many roboticists and others have argued that machines are capable, someday, of becoming conscious. Sony Corporation wanted to explore the potential of robotics and artificial intelligence for the home. Artificial intelligence expert Masahiro Fujita suggested developing a robot framed as a "pet," in part because it was more feasible than other, more utilitarian applications. The Artificial Intelligence Bots featured all the elements that induce attachment to objects—and much more. It was designed to appear as if it was sentient, with its manufactured simulations of thoughtful pauses and tricks. People vary in their propensity toward anthropomorphism, that is, in their tendency to perceive humanlike intentions, cognition, and emotion in other animals and things. The greater their anthropomorphic tendencies, the more social and emotional their perceptions of and reactions to social robots will be.