Researcher warns evolving AIs raise major ethical questions

Driven by a declining population, a trend for developing robotic babies has emerged in Japan as a means of encouraging couples to become'parents'. The approaches taken vary widely and are driven by different philosophical approaches that also beg a number of questions, not least whether these robo-tots will achieve the aim of their creators. To understand all of this it is worth exploring the reasons behind the need to promote population growth in Japan. The new Kirobo Mini robot from Toyota (pictured) can't do much but chatter in a high-pitched voice, but supposedly has the smarts of a five-year-old Studies have found that humans and robots can share a'high degree of bonding,' especially with social robots that have a human-like appearance. But, humans may find certain realistic human qualities unappealing.