August 25, 2019

Slice of PIE: Robot and Nonhuman Intelligence – and Mental Health

Using the Program Guide of the World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin, Ireland in August 2019 (to which I will be unable to go (until I retire from education)), I will jump off, jump on, rail against, and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. The link is provided below where this appeared on page 4.

Writing Robot and Nonhuman Intelligence

Robots talk in a metallic voice, speak in a staccato rhythm, and walk in awkward movements. Right? That may have been true in the 1950s, but robots have evolved. So what does it mean today to be a robot? How have they changed over the years and how might they change still? How do we write one in a convincing way, and can we apply these same ideas to writing other nonhuman intelligences?

Martha Wells: author of fantasy and SF, SF novellas, won Nebula, ALA/YALSA Alex Award, Locus Award, and has appeared on the Hugo, Nebula, Philip K. Dick Award ballots, USA Today Bestseller List, NYT Bestseller List
Charles Stross: author of seven Hugo-nominated novels; won three Hugo awards for shorter work, translated into 12+ languages; pharmacist; first code monkey
Christopher Husberg: fantasy author
Mika Koverola: working on PhD in cognitive science. Knowledge of philosophy of science like consciousness, evaluative biases and the neuropsychology of language; coauthored 2 scientific peer-reviewed papers; fan of SF&F

Yeah, weird juxtaposition, but as I’m preparing to go back to work as a HS counselor; and because my daughter was asked to contribute art of a peel-and-stick for the fund-raising efforts of Bring Change to Mind (https://bringchange2mind.org/get-involved/high-school-program/) – I started thinking.

If we create artificial intelligence and robots more mobile, stronger, and faster that us…will they also be subject to mental health issues?


There are even specialists in robot-human interactions: http://www.robot.md/

It also appears that we have been sabotaging our future with robots: https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/science-fiction-to-blame-for-robots-bad-reputation

There’s also no shortage of “mad/crazy robot” stories, either: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KillerRobot (which probably accounts for the diatribe above).

But I can’t find much about robotic/AI mental illness – you know, schizophrenia, paranoia, hoarding, stuff like that. Though they are typically grouped according to type of issue – anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, eating disorders (we can probably eliminate that one, though, come to think of it, what if a robot or an AI had problems with its power source – like some setting their “nuclear/anti-matter/handwavium” power source to feed them more and more power…and then they blew up? I don’t know, that one may require some thought!), impulse control and addiction disorders (the mind boggles! (Mine does, anyways!)), personality disorders. OCD, PTSD (this could present some fascinating story ideas…), stress disorders, dissociative or factitious disorders, sexuality/gender disorders (possibly eliminated, but there might be an entire NEW can of worms that opens there – what about a robot who wants to physically reproduce? (What if it the robot wasn’t as matter-of-fact as Data (ST:TNG) when his “daughter” Lal in “The Offspring” died? Is there such a thing as robotic or AI “depression”? What if a scientist who created an AI had depression issues herself and when her AI started emulating them (it of course, reflected its creator), she just programmed he depression away? There are all KINDS of directions such a story could go! [I’m considering NOT posting this so I don’t give away any great ideas!]), and somatic disorders (or what about body image disorders????) (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-types-illness#2)

Whew!

That was an unexpected storm!

Final question, what gives Humans the right to create another entire set of intelligences designed to be like us…and SUFFER like us? Many scientists would design their robots to have no wasteful “spiritual dimension”. Yet, in anger and suffering, won’t there be ONE robot or AI who asks the question, “Why did you create us to suffer?”

Now there’s a “god-question” that would be fascinating to tackle in a story...


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