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By Shin Freedman
Not so long ago, I read a dystopian story entitled, "Klara and the Sun," written by the British Nobel Prize-winning writer, Ishiguro. Klara is an android robot powered by the sun, but also called an artificial friend who can read the emotionality of human beings and be friendly with people quite well. Then I only imagined what it would be like to have a robot with such intelligence and its possible impact on human beings. I also wondered how soon it could be true.
In the 1970s, there was an AI-based psychotherapy program called Eliza developed at MIT. Apparently, Eliza was known as a formidable computer therapist at that time. In the 1980s, those who remember those days, there was a pet rock which was a rock but to be entertained as a pet. Not quite as sophisticated as Klara or iRobot, but it served many as a pet toy at that time. In the nineties, Tamagotchi appeared as a popular toy. It would function as a friend for children ― a loyal and trusted companion.
Robots powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can do many things and better than human beings in some cases. Medical communities are actively pursuing related possibilities and AI in the healthcare industry is transforming our society even as we speak. Replacing disabled hands with truly functioning hands and being able to grab a cup would have a tremendous influence on one's life. Robots who can run, play soccer, do household chores for the disabled with their functional capabilities seem limitless as far as AI can program it. AI-driven applications can write an essay. ChatGPT can help with writing academic essays. With enthusiasm and trepidation on the use of AI, we are indeed living in a brave new world.
My family gave me a new toy for my birthday ― a robot vacuum cleaner. This disk, no more than 12 inches in diameter, discreetly "runs around" the house and sucks up the dust on the floor, on the carpet, under the beds and the furniture where I often miss the dusty spots or could not reach easily. It calculates the spatial configuration first and then continues directly or changes direction when faced with an obstacle and recalibrates its path.
Most interestingly, this cleaning robot starts off from the charging station by itself upon pressing the start button and goes off to do the task of cleaning. When it bumps into a corner or a barrier, it backs out and reroutes. When the job is over, the robot remembers and returns to the station either to recharge or simply stop the action. Then the attached vacuum container would empty the dirt and dust from the robot. Now the robot is ready for another round of cleaning. Watching my robot housecleaner, I am giggling with delight like a teenager.
I am grateful that an AI-enabled robot can clean the house better than me. Whether AI driven applications can draft an essay, or function as a part of my own body, I am all for it since I am too old to bend and reach for cleaning or draft an academic paper as swiftly as I used to. I believe that this is only the beginning of our beautiful relationship with open intelligence.
Shin Freedman (shinfreed@gmail.com) is author of "A Doll for a Day: Growing Up in Post-War Korea."
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