So much of daily life has changed compared to the past. Doing laundry, washing dishes, cooking meals, reading the newspaper, writing to-do lists, and many other tasks were done by human hands. In the present day, many tasks have become much easier and less time-consuming with improved technology, including having to write main ideas on computers or smartphones. Machines heavily affect the whole world and will only continue to evolve to handle more complicated work, which could involve living amongst humans like us. Engineered Arts, a UK company, has been working on making humanoid robots for entertainment purposes, including theme parks and theatrical shows. Though with years of research, they’re able to develop machines that could interact with people like a real human.
In the end of 2021, Engineered Arts had revealed an Ameca robot, a humanoid machine that’s presented to look and express itself like a human. For over 12 years of development, Ameca was made using its robotic predecessors, Mesmer (a robotic look-alike of an individual) and RoboThespian (a robotic actor), to convey human emotions during its conversations.
The major central system that helps EA’s robots be expressive is called Tritium, a main component that gives the robot faster response times, quick decision-making, become multilingual, and remote control for a human user. In the beginning of January 2022, Ameca was presented to the public in Las Vegas at the CES 2022 (Consumer Electronic Show) for a chance to make normal conversations. Though it didn’t answer every question correctly and can’t walk yet, it gave out huge first impressions for the people and its possibilities for improvement seem to only grow further from the results.
Having robots live with humans seem like a dream come true, but not without some potential consequences. The Ameca robot appears very similar to the robots in “I-Robot,” a 2004 sci-fi film which showcased a future of humanoid robots being incorporated into human life. Unlike the movie when the robots became hostile with their distorted logic, the Ameca robot is built with a system to prioritize specific demands and conflicts when faced with a difficult choice. What’s still concerning about the conflict resolution system is being forced to face a machine with glitched or hacked programming. Science isn’t always perfect, at first. Another worrisome consequence for robots becoming more prevalent is allowing humans to do so little. While it does sound great to earn more free time, it also diminishes independence while greatly increasing high security with machines. Allowing robots to do more simple tasks for people would influence sloth, similar to what affected the humans in Wall E, a 2008 film which involved humans being forced out of a polluted Earth. While waiting for Earth to be safe to live again, the humans stayed in space with advanced technologies serving their every need. Having their desires easily fulfilled by machines blinded their own senses, making every human become overweight and lazy without ever realizing their conditions.
The future for human life with humanoid robots is drawing ever so closer. People shouldn’t become highly dependent on advanced machinery. People should continue being productive by working alongside the machines rather than forcing them to improve humanity themselves.
