Pink Robots!

I never really gave robots a chance. It wasn't so much as didn't give them a chance as, didn't notice them. I was always a fan of monsters. It wasn't until this class that I thought about robots in entertainment, I certainly didn't think about what they represented. To me robots were one of two things, either: 1. Personalities who happen to be made out of metal. I know it seems unbelievable, but, when I think of R2D2, Twinkie (Buck Rogers), Holly (Red Dwarf), K-9 (Doctor Who), Johnny 5 (Short Circuit), and a host of others I do not think of them as being built. I think of them as  typical characters, like any of their biological companions. 2. I also saw them as simply mechanical instruments. I would use Hal 9000 or the Killbots (Chopping Mall) as an example. I know many would disagree and say Hal is the perfect example of a robot showing us our own fears. But as a child I looked at Hal as just a broken computer, just pull out the chip and he's done. 

     I had these two very black and white views. I do remember seeing Heartbeeps and thinking it was kind of a cool premise. I'm a bit dense at times and do not always pay attention to the world around me. If I could I would go back in time before robots, computers, etc. (I know I sound like "Grumpy old man" from SNL.) Anyway, because of this class I've noticed and thought a little bit more about the robot world around me. Stories of Sex robots, peoples empathy towards robots, video game addiction, etc seem to be everywhere (much when someone points out a yellow car.) As I started thinking about a robot that really stood out to me the song "One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21" came to mind. The song is about a robot coming alive (in the emotional sense). I think it really explains the modern view of the robot and all the questions that come with them even today. I do not think most people are really scared of robots taking over, I think they are more scared of the moral implications of what it means, if a robot "can feel." If Robots can have feelings, what does that mean for us? are we less human?