Editor's Guide: Science fiction movies must be indispensable to robots, especially humanoid robots, the more like real humans, the more it marks the development of science and technology. However, many people say that humanoid robots are too scary and fear that they will one day rule humans in turn. The author of this article has expressed his opinion on this and shared it with you.
The most frightening thing in recent days is the humanoid robot made by British companies. From the robot's eye lifting, to stretching its body and five fingers, each movement is accompanied by precise expression management, which frightens people to be stretched. There is a feeling that the soul is imprisoned in a machine, self-observing and digesting what is happening in the real world, which is particularly eerie. I don't know how everyone feels after watching it?
The robot, called Ameca, comes from Engineered Arts, a British technology company. Compared with Sophia's robot, Ameca's expression is very natural and more refined, and it can make realistic expressions like people such as blinking, stunned, and thinking.
This realistic humanoid robot that resembles a human hunting curiosity hits the bullseye of our curiosity, and there are many people who look back and forth several times. However, the consequences of this operation may have some new stories. For example, dream face sequelae. The ghost animal is that this robot is more three-dimensional and breathtaking after manifesting in the dream. In the past two days, the author's dreams are all this kind of blue-faced bald man, wearing a black cloak, like the setting of the Dementors in Harry Potter, coldly floating in front of you, making a messy expression to scare people half to death. The author has been waking up in the middle of the night for several days, and now he can fall asleep with the night lights on. Ameca has managed to break into the subconscious and is the new nightmare fuel.
Whether it is the release of this kind of curious humanoid robot that attracts people's attention, or leaves a huge space for people's imagination, it gives people room for the subconscious to play freely. Why does the face of a humanoid robot bring so much attraction and lethality? What exactly are we afraid of robots?
What caught our attention in social networks was the robot's simulated face, but we seemed to be intimidated by the human-faced machine. Behind this is actually a common psychological phenomenon of the public - the uncanny valley effect. This effect was proposed by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori. He named this psychological phenomenon the "Uncanny Valley" effect based on a psychological change in the range of similarities produced by humans on highly anthropomorphic human robots, from liking to extreme disgust.
In fact, our psychology for these highly simulated robots is to lament the progress of technology on the one hand, because of the fancy gimmick attention of these technologies, and on the other hand, because these humanoid humanoid robots trigger a physiological aversion to "human-like non-human" things, which may be rooted in the instinctive defense mechanism of the fear of the unknown projected onto these images.
With the development of artificial intelligence technology, machines have learned how to imitate, how to play chess, and even control limb balance like humans to perform fancy gymnastics or street dance. The manipulation ability of the limbs is easy to win the amazement and exclamation of countless eyeballs, and the human-like expression and speech skills bring people more space for imagination.
In the rendering of countless science fiction books and movies, such as the familiar science fiction robot movie "Terminator" series, "Westworld", or full of philosophical speculation "Love Death Robot", these popular science fiction movie content has also influenced people's perception of robots, the dualism of good and evil about machines, robots replacing humans, or robots rising to rebel and enslave humans, these unknown fears are the elements that trigger the activation of our defense mechanisms.
When the robot's face is highly similar to that of a human, it also gives our brain a message to quickly pay attention to and learn about survival. Humans derive their innate ability to recognize "faces", which is actually a survival protection mechanism. The expression of the same kind is a clear signal to understand the current situation. For example, in the wilderness, if you can quickly find faces, and interpret the information of faces to decide the next step, it is a very important way to survive. In fact, the human brain recognizes faces from visual images faster than conscious activity. This gave humans plenty of time to perceive danger in survival and evolution.
When we focus the characteristics of humanoid robots on the face, the rich expressions for the machine are set up a good program code, but the performance of the exquisite xiaoxiao brings people more mirror projection and fear of psychology, we are very good at seeing the image characteristics of people from inanimate objects, especially the human face, which may be an externalization function of human beings who are too obsessed with themselves. It even inspires some relationship and imagination about the relationship between the body and the soul, and in a way, humans are also a kind of restriction that is imprisoned in the flesh, and this idea is also triggered by the appearance of the face of the humanoid robot. We always want to interpret the things that belong to the human will from various physical phenomena, and then label it from the perspective of survival and interests to divide it, reject it, and fear it.
Human beings are afraid of robots in essence, one is afraid that intelligent robots will replace themselves as labor, and the other is afraid that robots with consciousness will rise up to enslave humans. From the perspective of these two fears, the alternative dimension of external image and ability obviously has a uncanny valley effect, and for the inner mental level, the humanoid mechanical consciousness is also within the scope of the uncanny valley effect projection.
Regarding the awareness of robots, many companies like to cater to the tastes of the public when they are promoted, such as the sophia robot when it comes out to say that it will destroy mankind, Boston Dynamics robot finally counterattacked after being repeatedly attacked by researchers, although the final official ran out to admit that it was a posed video, but still gave many people the impression that the robot will fight back and destroy humans after having consciousness.
In fact, robots are not as intelligent as people think, and even some are mentally retarded. The words we see on the market are all manually controlled in the background, or the staff has set up the words in advance. Robots are not intelligent enough to communicate with people naturally. If the natural language processing ability of the robot is judged, it is basically the level of the smart speaker on the market, and there is still some distance from the intelligent stage of autonomous cognitive analysis and reasoning, let alone the self-aware super artificial intelligence.
This time the British company designed the Ameca robot, the degree of intelligence is also average. Its rich expression realization stems from the internal design of the digital model of the expression, supported by the underlying humanoid robot system, Ameca robot is equipped with a variety of sensors, including cameras, microphones and position encoders, as well as thousands of smart devices, and the data of these sensors can be obtained in real time. Eventually, Ameca can stare at others, enter simple conversations, and so on.
Every time a gimmicky-filled humanoid robot is introduced, it brings a wave of shock and discussion. Some time ago, Musk's humanoid robot was launched, which brought a wave of attention. In fact, the current so-called third generation of artificial intelligence is still in the stage of simulating the most elementary perceptual intelligence of human beings, and the visual ability has made great progress, but other cognitive abilities, especially the advancement of thinking consciousness, are still in the process of difficult climbing. The higher level of general artificial intelligence with comprehensive reasoning and judgment ability is even more distant, and the self-aware super artificial intelligence is a trick and imagination.
But despite this fact, knowing that these things are "forged", we still regard them as "intelligent" products. In the face of some scenarios, the logical deduction of "the rise of robots to destroy mankind" will be involuntarily produced, which is rooted in the instinctive fear of elements that threaten their own survival.
According to the law of human survival, once ai with "self-awareness" appears, it will definitely control or eliminate human beings, which are the "other" subjects who can grasp the right to exist in AI. These a priori judgments exist in human blood and genes, and have protected human reproduction through millions of years of evolutionary history. This also constantly reminds humans that as soon as some suspicious signal appears, such as a "human-like and non-human" robot, the brain immediately rings an alarm bell.
The uncanny valley effect has a great impact on us in terms of external image and inner consciousness, and also has an impact on the space and dimension of our research and creation of AI.
Judging from the performance capabilities of Ameca robots, at least at this stage as a home service robot, it is still not accepted by the public. There are suddenly more human-shaped human-faced machines in the home, the degree of simulation is similar to that of humans, and they can also talk to people, and this night suddenly wakes up confused, not a humanoid black shadow to talk to you, it can really scare the human soul. It's a little weird to think about. Some netizens commented on Ameca's expression, the more like a person the more scary, made into a cartoon or animal image may be more acceptable. So, what should the future of humanoid robots be more popular?
Ameca robots, which should be very popular with film and television and game companies in the future. Can reproduce a lot of content classic IP character image or intelligent peripherals, under the premise of classic IP, the public should be easier to accept this kind of humanoid robot, put into the company publicity or supermarket to attract people or good, as to whether to put it at home depends on the situation.
For some basic simple service positions, humanoid robots will also have a good place to play, such as toll stations at highway intersections and toll halls for various payments. A uniform standard of smile and service, no emotional slackness and impatience, a peace. For relatively complex businesses, it is handled by humans, and machines and humans work together to maintain the normal operation of the business.
Aging and population crisis are already established realities, and humanoid robots are the most promising development industries as nursing machines or special groups of caregivers. There is no filial piety in front of the bed for a long time, and it is more reassuring to take care of the patient and the elderly, which requires a huge investment of energy, and to hand over to a robot that is intelligent enough. The market can engage in two kinds of services, leasing and monopoly, and everyone takes what they need. For our generation, it is very possible to catch up with the robot pension, so that the service standards, patience, no negative emotions of the robot to the pension, is also a better choice. Feel free to move bricks to work, so that you can rent a high-level robot labor in the future.
The development direction of these humanoid robots has been the goal of the industry and enterprises, and is in the process of continuous evolution. In addition to these material and physiological directions, at the level of consciousness, there are also some people who have larger brain holes, and the ultimate fantasy of humanoid robots is to live forever as a carrier of human consciousness. Just like the situation described in the Black Mirror series or "Love Death Machine", when humans die in the flesh, the human neural network is digitally reconstructed, and finally the packaged consciousness is extracted and transplanted into the machine, and the body continues to live forever. In the ancient Taoist elixir to maintain immortality, in the era of intelligence, we will also be able to use machines to maintain consciousness. This trend is also a more interesting setting, our generation is unable to catch up with the possibility of seeing, and it may be realized in a few hundred years.
Inferring from the functions set by robots, we see that these development possibilities are very good to serve humans. But in the era of intelligence, how can we deal positively with the "uncanny valley" psychology at the mental level while living in harmony with machines in the projection of crisis consciousness, which is a key problem that humans and AI machines cannot escape in the future.
From an anthropocentric point of view, we very much wish we could transcend the limits that natural evolution has set for us. For the intelligent species created, we hope that he has unlimited imagination, and at the same time we want him to develop in the established rules and limitations. From this perspective, the development of intelligent robots will grow under limited rules. Like all controversial emerging things, it undergoes questioning, chaotic, infinite evolution. But between the finite rules and the infinite growth, there are also infinite blind spots, and in the middle of that may be the singularity of the awakening of human and machine consciousness, so the ultimate evolution of the future, what direction is possible...
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