Robots Are Not Human Beings Essay Example for Free

Robots Are Not Human Beings Essay It is almost impossible to create a creature which is exactly the same as humans. Most of the robots can think as logically as we can and they can maybe act approximately the same we do but they hardly ever can show feelings. Not be able to think cognitive is one of the major problems in the short science fiction story â€Å"Liar† by Isaac Asimov. Herbie, a RB-34 robot, has the gift to read others mind. He is also trained not to hurt other peoples feelings. When people ask him something, Herbie gives them the answer they want to hear. The robot does not recognize, however, that with telling them a lie, he is going to hurt their feelings, too. He is not conscious of this issue. When Doctor Calvin explains Herbie his fault, he starts to realize that he always has to tell the truth whether it is good or not. Nevertheless, Herbie cannot change how he is because he is a robot. He was created to always say what the people wanted to know. This is one significant difference between human beings and robots. People can change their thoughts and actions, robots cannot. Calvin and Bogert do not realize at first either that a robot is not like a human being. They both believe that Herbie is like a normal person with extraordinary abilities. They are not aware of problems he might have. Both of them count on what Herbie says without questioning. A good example that demonstrates this behavior is on page 290, where Lanning and Bogert are arguing: â€Å"’you havent any secrets with a mind-reading robot around, so dont forget that I know all about your resignation. ’ The ash on Lannings cigar trembled and fell, and the cigar itself followed, ‘what †¦ what –‘† With the surprising reaction of Lanning we know that what Herbie said is not entirely true. Bogert, nevertheless, really believes that Herbie told him the truth because he thinks that this robot does not make mistakes. Herbie is a genius, and genius do not make faults. This is one of the major mistakes of the characters in the story. A reason why they are doing this is certainly because it is more convenient. You do not have to think about the solution. It is easier just asking a robot. Moreover, the robot tells you what you want to hear. We can also see Herbies lack of human traits in observing his feelings and emotions. Herbie tells Calvin that her lover loves her. He is not afraid of how she is going to feel when she finds out that this is a lie. Herbie does not consider the consequences. He just wants to complete his function and tells her what she wants to know. A normal person would probably not do this because he or she would be aware of the consequences. In addition to that, most of the people would feel bad for the other person at the end. The robot, however, does not understand what he did wrong. Technology made our life easier Many years ago, we were transporting goods by horse. Nowadays, we are that well-developed that we can ship goods by airplane or train all over the world and this fast. Technology made our life a lot easier. In the story, â€Å"The Nine Billion Names of God†, by Arthur C. Clarke, the monks wanted to benefit from this new technology, too. Their plan was to list all the possible names of God. The monks had the idea that it would be a lot easier and faster to get a machine that can evaluate the names for them. It was their belief that with a machine, they could be done in three months. Certainly the machine would complete the mission quickly, but would they still achieve God’s purpose? God’s purpose was that they list all possible names of God. This would have taken them four and a half centuries. With the machines they are going to finish the task earlier and they would save time to do something else. The machines, however, would list the names differently. It would not be handwritten anymore and there would not be so much effort behind it. Moreover, letting machines doing your work makes the work seem less important because it is not you that put the effort into. For example, if I wrote a handwritten letter and shipped it to my friend, she would probably be happier than if I had written her just an email, because it took me more time. Furthermore, I wrote every word. It was not the machine that wrote the word for me. It would be made with more love. The same thing would happen with all the names the monks should list. Maybe the task would not be completed if they do it with a machine because they were not sitting hours behind a desk and writing all the different names. To write down all the names would make them think about who God is and they would realize how important God is for them; this is maybe why God wanted to give them this task. Machines, however, are extremely helpful, effective and useful. They do a lot of work for us so that we can concentrate on other things. We would not live the same lifestyle without machines. I believe, however, that we exaggerate. Some things are still better handmade. It is not necessary to do everything with a machine. I miss, for example, buying my flight tickets with a person. Nowadays, you check in with a machine. There is nobody anymore that takes time for you and wishes you a good flight. I hope that this technology boom is going to decrease and that we find a good balance between using and not using machines. Women rule the world In the past it was common that men worked and earned the money for the family. The womans job was basically staying at the house, cleaning it and looking after the kids. This image was seen during many centuries. In 1910, when the comedy â€Å"Looking Forward†, by Theodore Marston, was written, it was not different. Women did not have the right to vote. This was only available for men. It was seen a lot more, however, that women went working than in the previous centuries. It was obvious, nevertheless, than women who went working were poorer than the women who stayed at home, because women working was not seen as good. When Marstons play came out, it was certainly attracting interest. He demonstrated a completely different life from what they were living at this point. He showed how he thought the world is going to be in 2010 and who is going to rule the nation. For him, women became a political and social majority in 2010. Moreover, the men were not allowed to vote anymore. We can read out of this play that people, mainly men, were aware of women becoming the leading gender. It is possible that they have been looking at the changes over the past years because we can see that with the years, women got more power. For example, until 1855, the women were not allowed to go to college. Therefore, it was impossible for them to get a same degree as the men. In 1910, it was already common for women to go to the same college as men did. This shows that female emancipation has changed rapidity. Maybe this was also the reason why men did not want to give the women the right to vote, because they were aware of women taking over the planet. Marston, however, anticipated that it was not possible to stop women empowerment and that one day women are going to get the right to vote. He was right by his statement. Women got the right to vote in 1989. His statement, however, was that women are going to be the â€Å"political and social majority† in 2010. This is mostly exaggerated. Nevertheless, it is true that women got a lot more involved in political and social contents. Nowadays, we see a lot of powerful women. Also, many countries have a woman as political president, as for example, Germany with Angela Merkel. She is accepted exactly the same way as a men political president would be accepted because people today do not decide because of gender anymore; they are more interested in what this person has to tell the nation and how he or she is going to make changes in a good way for the country. I am impressed, how good the author anticipated the future. It is fairly accurate that women do have a lot more power nowadays. They may not rule the whole world, but as I have shown in different examples, there are many women who have the same power as men do.