Are you the type of person who talks to their electronics?
Do you have an Alexa, or a Google Home? Do you see her as a family member, or a tool?
Have you seen movies like “WALL-E” or “I, Robot?” Have you played games like Detroit: Become Human? Has that affected your perception of real-life robots?
When you think of a robot dog, what do you think of? The plastic Tekno Toys from the 90s? The Boston Dynamics robots? The lawn roombas? Do you think they are cute? Do you place some form of humanity on them?
I’m not saying the illusion of humanity we regularly place on inanimate objects is inherently bad. I regularly scold objects in my room from falling off shelves, and mumble affirmations to my phone when it won’t load something I’m trying to show someone. I have, on occasion, seen one of the lawn roombas roaming campus, then pointed and declared, “There goes the boy!” In the moment, it’s not a bad habit. The problem arises when we place so much humanity on electronics that it clouds our judgement.
Amazon has recently announced Astro, a robot with a facial recognition camera, a touchscreen “face,” a navigational system similar to a roomba’s and a cup holder. Astro also has a cute, doglike stature and two circular eyes, evoking a “WALL-E”-like image. For $999, you can bring Jeff Bezos’ newest surveillance machine into your household. In the “Introducing Amazon Astro” commercial, Astro can be seen following homeowners around, checking on stoves, dancing, delivering beers, facilitating video calls and patrolling a house at night to keep out errant raccoons. All of these things, you may notice, are things you can do with technology that already exists.
So, if you can use your phone to video call and play music, your body to check stoves and grab beers or a home security system to keep intruders out of your home, what makes Astro palatable? The cute appearance, obviously. Astro can smile and emote with its screen, and its size makes it look harmless.
If your thoughts on the Astro are along the lines of, “aww, cute robot,” then that’s totally fine. If you’re thinking about the “Vacuubot” from the “Love, Death & Robots” episode “Automated Customer Service,” then you’re riding on my train of thought.
For an example of further robo-skepticism, look no further than the situation with Boston Dynamics’ “Spot” robot. The “Digidog” has made appearances on the New York Police Department force, helping officers gather information about dangerous situations without risking human life. It has also been seen in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, facilitating video calls through a mounted iPad and radio.
Though the uses of “Spot” are more obvious, many have drawn comparisons with the design to the robots in the “Metalhead” episode of “Black Mirror,” where a woman is chased and killed by robotic dogs inspired by the “Digidogs.” In New York, the NYPD canceled their contract with Boston Dynamics after backlash from citizens, who called the dogs “creepy” and raised concerns of the dogs being used for improper surveillance or militarization.
In this expanding technological era, I understand that everyone has different levels of comfort with their electronic presence. Some are fine with sharing their location on social media at all times, relying on their Ring doorbells and their Alexas for home maintenance. Others get mad when someone holds a cell phone too close to them, and do their best to keep any identifying information about them off the internet.
I understand that there is only so much we can do these days, but I see no need to put a cute face on a robot that follows you around your house, listening to your every word and sending your conversations to Amazon headquarters. I fear our society may get so attached to “cute” technology like the Astro that we will not be able to put the robodog down when it inevitably bites us.
Categories: Opinion
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