What Interacting With Robots Might Reveal About Human Nature

Robot panic seems to move in cycles, as new innovations in technology drive fear about machines that will take over our jobs, our lives, and our society--only to collapse as it becomes clear just how far away such omnipotent robots are. Today's robots can barely walk effectively, much less conquer civilization. But that doesn't mean there aren't good reasons to be nervous. The more pressing problem today is not what robots can do our bodies and livelihoods, but what they will do to our brains. "The problem is not that if we teach robots to kick they'll kick our ass," Kate Darling, an MIT robot ethicist, said Thursday at the Aspen Ideas Festival, which is co-hosted by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic.