ItR Gods & Robots Reading Response

The author’s opinion:

In the age of ancient Greeks, our ancestors use their imagination to create super-geniuses with “miraculous capabilities” (179). However, we cannot find reliable evidence to support the relationship between these mythical characters and the “modern biomechanics and robots”(179).  Referring to the historians of robotics, the “automata fall into three basic functions: labor, sex and entertainment or spectacle” (180). These devices are used to “amplify human capabilities” (180). They have been used for executing prisoners or entertaining the rulers by killing people. The bronze bull is a typical killing automaton. In addition, “Signal horns and other megaphonic devices to augment the human voice were devised in various cultures of the ancient world” (187). Based on the megaphonic devices, ancient people developed statues that can speak and sing in order to disguise a priest as a god. People also developed statue that was more alive by changing their feeling of touching. After that, a bird that was able to fly has been invented by Archytas (190). The bronze eagle and dolphin were following behind. These gadgets symbolized the subject of automata entertainment has changed from the rulers to normal people. In the ancient Greco- Roman world, the “wondrous machines told the world that the king could achieve the impossible“ (196). The automation process can let the people believe the ruler is the man selected by the god.  The automata have been used to increase efficiency and save labor as they can pour wine automatically. The defending guardians are also another way that the automata serve the ancient people. These automata are designed to protect people and important places. In ancient stories and epics, robots are seen as the hero of humans. They are the guardian of justice who possess extraordinary power. They also symbolize “cultural achievements” (211). The god to the ancestors is the power and the experience of building the robots. They indicated the technology development and innovation by leading people to make automata to duplicate their supernatural abilities. The robot was inoculated in the “storytelling imaginations” (212) and born with the development of creativity and technology.

My words:

According to the book, the automata have been used in several totally different aspects. From the tools or toys for the ruler to kill people to the guardian that can protect valuable things. However, although the forms and the function of automata are changing, the relationship between them and our humans is always the same. They are “another hand” of humans (maybe the rulers or the normal people). This makes my thought flow to the future development of robots. In the future, they will have their own thought and be able to self-evolution for sure. Since the state-of-the-art AI technology and machine learning algorithm have already enabled robots to learn. Although some critics insist that robots will control our humans one day, I still hold the faith that robots will still be under our control and act like ancient ones (become another hand) according to today’s expectations of technology.