Jun 012005
Toyota is planning on marketing service robots as soon as 2010. The company sees these robots assisting with tasks such as nursing care. So, when do I get my own robotic nurse? Not that I would ever willingly give up my flesh-and-blood nurses, but a robotic personal assistant has intriguing possibilities. Would a robot accompany me on an all-night bacchanal through the streets of Vegas. Would it pour single-malt Scotch down my g-tube until I couldn’t remember my own name? Would it dutifully repeat and amplify my drunken pick-up lines to the cute girls sitting at the bar? Or would it get all sanctimonious and drag me back to the hotel while droning some nonsense about protecting my well-being?
I’m not so sure replacing flesh-and-blood personal assistants with robots is necessarily a good idea. After all, some of us can program. Imagine the havoc that could be wrought.
To serve man – Damon Knight, excellent.
There was also a new Outer Limits episode along that line – Valerie.
How much more obedience do you want?