Hitting the Books: The case against tomorrow's robots looking like people

Who wouldn't want an AI-driven robot sidekick; a little mechanical pal, trustworthy and supportive -- the perfect teammate. But should such an automaton be invented would it really be your teammate, an equal partner in your adventurous endeavors? Or would it simply be a tool, albeit a wildly advanced one measured against today's standard? In the excerpt below from Human-Centered AI, author and professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, Ben Shneiderman, examines the pitfalls of our innate desire to humanize the mechanical constructs we build and how we are shortchanging their continued development by doing so. Published by Oxford University Press.