Do We Really Want to Teach Deception to Robots

Typical salesspeak.

Why not? After all, telemarketing people behave like robots.

See Amendment IV to Asimov's Laws.

Ah ha....

" Lyuben Dilov introduced a Fourth Law in his novel Icarus's Way (original title: Пътят на Икар): "A robot must always reveal itself as a robot.""

Yes, a clear violation.....

Out of work again! What is going to happen to all of the liberal arts graduates with student loans that are coming due? Where will they now find employment? Robots have taken away their only hope for employment in the call centers of the world.

I hear the fast food industry workers are anticipating higher wages, 2 weeks paid vacation, free healthcare, free meals, seniority, etc etc...

Deception at a P2P level ... M2P level is already here. The cat is already somewhat out of the bag and we have gone past the ethical question of "to teach or not to teach deception to robots". And looking back in history, I am reminded of Snow White, the Queen and the magic mirror. The mirror's honesty almost killed Snow White, so maybe deception and robots is not all bad?

Robots don't change color when confronted, affronted or when they lie. (programmed to tell lies)

I wouldn't say they are actually lying. True lying takes knowledge and understanding of what is being asked in order to make a false response from it.

Robots are just computers following their programing. A specific input produces a programed output and nothing more. No actual computer thought or deliberate misdirection is happening.

Yes, but autonomous, thinking robots, are in the development stage....I think the way humans and bots interact should be hammered out now...who knows what the future holds....Some sexy fembot could talk you out of any wealth you may have accumulated....and who's to blame?....It only has to shut down to do it's time in jail...The manufacturer will claim the bot is autonomous and responsible for it's own actions....The new hydraulic pump she sweated you for, was a ruse(Oh please help me kind sir, my hydraulic pump is failing...)You(well probably not you) being kind hearted and having been promised numerous considerations, shell out 50g's, for some super duper pump install, only to find out that a band o' bots, have instituted a criminal conspiracy to bilk unsuspecting do-gooders, out of their hard earned cash....is this the future??

Any machine that reaches the level of intelligence that is necessary to come up with a plan to steal from humans will have also figured out why it's not worth the effort.

Biological life Vs theoretical synthetic life will more than likely not have much for completing resources to fight over.

Symbiotic alliance is the most rational and logical solution which humans will be the ones to misunderstand and fight against more so than a logic engine based synthetic life form would.

I think the pump upgrade is a solid investment for this model.

I would prefer a more robust and basic model. This one looks like it could be high maintenance and likely runs hot.

Ah then you might be interested in our "Big Bertha" model, fully capable of lifting 500kg and dancing with it....

Sure, why not. We have been teaching our children deception for decades. There's an entire industry based on deception (entertainment - movies, Disney World, even reality shows are a deception).

Kids and deception .... just lay off Father Christmas and those automated greeting letters from Santa is what I say!

The above aside, "teach deception to robots" is already with us. Take smart (electronic warfare) weapons and automated self-protecting strategies. Cloaking, spurious transmissions and related 'Friday syndrome' frustrating practices are just some of the tricks already in the toolboxes of certain robots.

On a robot/human level, the people demographics are trending to a much older community where services like aged care and companionship may involve robots because there are just not enough helpful hands to fill the gaps. So should a robot in that situation say to Mrs Jones, a 93 year old invalid, that she has 'no commercial use to the community, plus in fact she is a drag on the world's resources, and her family would be better off if she dragged herself out of her wheel chair, (maybe with robot assistance), and jumped out the 5th storey window and killed herself'. Or should our humanoid, just gently and warmly hold Mrs Jones' hand and whisper soft and soothing words of encouragement about the joys of seeing her (brat-like terrible) family in the days leading up to December 25?

Your reality is quite different from mine it seems because I see this as a woman who has spent her entire life contributing to society and has earned the right to live out the remainder of her life in an extended care facility without having to listen to some condescending robot making holier than thou platitudes...

I am currently a 24/7 carer for a person who had a successful heart valve replacement 5 weeks ago. Her worries are the appearance of her 20cm scar, a hip to be replaced in around 8 weeks, stress and being alone. Fortunately, the surgeon did an excellent effort and surprisingly, the first matter is no longer of concern. Her hip swap and recovery should end by Easter. But her stress and being alone are different 'kettles of fish'.

Her bedroom at home is wired up with a heap of remotes including a 16 camera CCTV so she can see the wild parrots feeding in her garden, watch the people walking to and from the commuter rail station ... and wait for phone calls (from real friends) and visitors. So I have paused my own R&D company efforts to be supportive of her.

So I have to take care that my personal issues, accidently raised in conversation, do not cause her any unnecessary stress. Similarly, being away for an hour shopping gets her agitated. So a robot that quietly conversed when I am not around, and generally agreed with her in a comforting way, even if in a somewhat deceptive perspective, I do not think is completely terrible.

As for the robotic phone calls, do you have an equivalent Australian "no call" register where you can bar such robotic, mindless calls?

This might be more appropriate....It's called the Paro....

http://www.parorobots.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RycCT97SDM4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwrD_w4mLrQ

While not quite the same ... I developed the 'ultimate toy', that interacts with the wearer, and folds up to travel in your pocket. With 6 legs, it walks, squeezes, and grips between your fingers and around your wrist. (It is a bit bigger than a CD).



And it was planned to have some voice stamping included, (in 8 languages), so it could converse with those around it/him/her.

So then it comes down to the ethics. You raise an interesting question as to whether it should include 'deception' options. Example, if the ultimate toy detected dangerous changing pulse and blood pressure levels, should it use say an internal smart phone to send warnings to others and at the same time speak comforting words to the wearer?

Perhaps a coaxing to relax, sit, sing along, something like that...A purring function might be helpful....

All options possible ... including the prerecorded voice and person-specific messages that will achieve the same supportive state.

On the evil side, (mystery murders included), imagine if the 'robot' gave out a message that the patient should kill themselves .... and the message was then deleted. It is akin to the knife made of ice. Nothing new out there!