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Robots
- Our Future Partners?!
A Sociologist's View from a German and
Japanese Perspective
Doctoral Dissertation
by Miriam J.S. Leis
Robots are already
leaving the factory halls and are quite literally setting foot onto
public places, offices and even our homes. Great efforts are being put
into the research about making human-robot interaction easier and in
equipping robots with some human traits that even include emotions.
Where will humans place those artificial beings? Will they be granted a
place in human society? Will humans welcome them?
This book traces the history of human-made artificial entities,
life-imitating automata and robots, as they are described in Eastern
and Western mythology and literature, and were finally put to “life”
through mechanics and engineering. It will also try to explain
Japan’s playful enthusiasm and Germany’s pragmatic approaches when it
comes to developing and promoting robot technology. What might be
behind Japan’s “Robot Kingdom” and what may the human-robot future hold
for us?
Sociology
and robotics represent complementary sciences, where both can learn
from each other: why do today’s robots still have problems with tasks
that seem so simple to humans. Maybe it is the aspect of socio-cultural
embeddedness that is of major importance for helping a human person in
structuring ones environment and making sense of the world. Artificial
Intelligence is still a mind without history.
But
what if a simulation would be indistinguishable from its genuine
counterparts, can it be argued that both are the same – at least for
all practical purposes?
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