Robot Friend

I was reading a bit on the internet a while back--and sadly, I didn't save the link to share with you. But I'm sure you could Google a few key words and find it--about this study done to determine how favorably people view robots.

Basically, they gave people a questionnaire and asked them to rank activities they would enjoy more. Like, would you rather have a robot that completed a task you gave it specific instructions to complete? Or would you rather the robot gave you instructions? Or would you rather the robot helped you completed the task?

The results were surprising to me and very uplifting. Most people said they would rather have a robot help them, over all the other choices. They would rather have a partnership than a relationship where one is dominant over the other. That is very interesting to me. And encouraging.

That seems to indicate that people are receptive to robots in our society--no matter what SyFy Channel says. And how cool is that? How cool would it be to have a robot partner on the factory line. Or a robot co-worker at the next checkout lane? I definitely think nursing is an area well-suited to robots. And customer service.

The study was pretty interesting in other ways, too. For example, given the choice between a robot mom and a robot butler, most people chose robot mom. I have always said that, when I am an empty nester, I will enjoy having a robot companion to hang out with me.

T likes to remind me that he will still be here, keeping me company.