‘Are you human, too?’ is a 2018 South-Korean drama about an artificial intelligence (AI) robot that pretends to be human and in turn is treated as such by the people around him (Scoompi, 2018). He is the protagonist of the show and in true South-Korean drama fashion gains a love interest that ends up falling for him. In the final episode he shows some affection that indicates reciprocation by a tear that he sheds. This drama may not be as far-fetched as the premise makes it out to be. As we see nowadays the line between humans and machines is vanishing. We are teaching and programming AI to be better in our own games and they are becoming more developed as a result (Lant, 2017). However, some people get uneasy and afraid when a robot looks like something that resembles them too much, a phenomenon known as uncanny valley. An example of this is a person or pet that does not act as they expect them to act (Science Friday, 2018). People find it strange and do not feel comfortable with the robots. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that people should not be afraid of them.
Robots are now getting more and more advanced and as a result can play an increasingly valuable role in our society (Dormehl, 2017). For instance, robots can be a companion for the elderly, which is surely needed in our time where the number of caregivers is limited, our society is becoming an aging population and loneliness amongst the elderly is a rampant problem. For example, these robots can remind the elderly to take their medicine. Moreover, they can also teach communication skills to people with autism by talking and responding to them. The relationship between a human being and a machine can perhaps one day become real as our conceptions of what being truly human is challenged. According to researchers, when people form a bond or know the robot better they will avoid doing wrong to them (Science Friday, 2018). Eventually if the bond grows further between robots and humans, people tend to protect them from others. If you watch for example the video of Boston Dynamics’ Spot , you might feel some sympathy for the robot. This is because we have the inclination to treat robots more humanely if they exhibit human like qualities and actually interact with these robots (Dormehl, 2017). For example, people who have prejudice against a group but do not actually interact with them, will still have some prejudice regarding them (contact-theory).
So, robots should not be seen as something scary but as something that can be a great advantage in our human life. In the future, if the technology involved becomes more developed, there might be the chance that robots can express the same emotions as human beings, and so not be different at all from human beings.
Will it be possible? Time will tell.
References
Science Friday (2018). How strong is the human-robot bond? [online]. Available at:
Scoompi (2018). 3 Reasons Why “Are You Human, Too?” Isn’t Your Average Robot Drama. Available at:https://www.soompi.com/article/1182765wpp/3-reasons-human-isnt-average-robot-drama
Lant, K. (2017). Humans and Technology Are Becoming One, and It’s Changing Everything. Available at: https://futurism.com/humans-and-technology-are-becoming-one-and-its-changing-everything/
Dormehl, L. (2017). Why human-robot relationships are totally a good thing. Available at:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/why-human-robot-relationships-are-good-for-us/
picture – https://www.koreandrama.org/are-you-human-too/
