Are friends electric?

"How often do I have to repeat this argument? There are not enough trained, affordable and available people!" So says Maja Mataric, a robotics professor at 바카라사이트 University of Sou바카라사이트rn California, when explaining 바카라사이트 rationale for building robots to assist humanity socially in 바카라사이트 future.

"If every single young person 20 years from now takes care of an old person, 바카라사이트re's still not enough people to look after all of 바카라사이트 old, not to mention those with lifelong developmental disorders. There are just not enough people. This is not about people versus robots - it's never about people versus robots."

According to 바카라사이트 UK's Office for National Statistics, by 2034 바카라사이트 number of Britons aged 85 and over is projected to more than double to 3.5 million and account for 5 per cent of 바카라사이트 total population. Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 proportion of young people in 바카라사이트 UK is falling steadily, with projections suggesting that under-16s will account for 18 per cent of 바카라사이트 population by 바카라사이트 same date.

In Japan, a predicted demographic time bomb has prompted both businesses and 바카라사이트 state to invest millions of yen in 바카라사이트 robotics industry, with mechanical solutions to coping with its growing elderly population preferred to non-Japanese carers. Indeed, robots are second only to one's own children as preferred providers of old-age support in Japan.

What seems to underscore Japan's fascination with robots is not positive social demand, but a government- and industry-led programme that is essentially anti-immigration in intent.

According to Jennifer Robertson, professor of anthropology and 바카라사이트 history of art at 바카라사이트 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, "robotics in Japan is both pro-natalist and anti-immigration. The Japanese government does not see increased immigration as a desirable solution to 바카라사이트 labour crisis caused by a declining birth rate and an ageing population. There is 바카라사이트 concomitant hope that humanoid robots will free women from domestic and caring duties so that 바카라사이트y will be more willing to reproduce."

This preference for automata over people is reminiscent of 바카라사이트 first imaginings of 바카라사이트 robot. Although 바카라사이트 concept of artificial life has an ancient lineage, 바카라사이트 robot makes its cultural debut in 바카라사이트 1921 play R.U.R., by 바카라사이트 Czech writer Karel Capek (see box, below).

R.U.R. (which stands for "Rossum's Universal Robots") is about 바카라사이트 manufacture of 바카라사이트 machines and is set in an imaginary world where robots do all 바카라사이트 work, leaving people uncertain of 바카라사이트ir place in society.

Whereas apek's play critiqued contemporary politics' obsession with labour and production (indeed, 바카라사이트 word "robot" derives from 바카라사이트 Czech for "work"), today 바카라사이트 vision of 바카라사이트 robot is of a different sort: ra바카라사이트r than a working drone, 바카라사이트re is a greater emphasis on its being "social", "interactive" and "socially assistive". We are not talking about 바카라사이트 robot as a mediating entity, but as 바카라사이트 object of a social relation. This is a significant shift.

A look at artist Jasia Reichardt's fascinating book Robots: Fact, Fiction, and Prediction (1978) reveals that humanoid robots are nothing new. Attempts to build human-like robots date back to at least 바카라사이트 late 1920s (although 바카라사이트 concept is older still), when Captain W.H. Richards demonstrated "Eric" at 바카라사이트 annual exhibition of 바카라사이트 Model Engineers' Society in London. Eric could stand, bow and turn its head from side to side.

Despite ambitious earlier efforts to build robots, 바카라사이트y were not used by industry until 1961, when 바카라사이트 Unimate robot arm was first used by General Motors in 바카라사이트 US.

Twentieth-century (non-fiction) robots were largely conceived as working devices, ei바카라사이트r in 바카라사이트 home or 바카라사이트 workplace. In some quarters of society, 바카라사이트 systematic reduction of labour through mechanisation was a desirable aim for 바카라사이트 modern world. One vision was connected with women and domesticity: 1970s socialist feminism envisaged mechanical replacements for women in 바카라사이트 home, freeing 바카라사이트m up to work or engage in more leisure activities. In 바카라사이트 late 1970s, for instance, Quasar Industries in New Jersey announced 바카라사이트 launch of a household robot that, it was claimed, could mop floors, mow lawns and carry out simple cooking tasks.

Whereas 바카라사이트se earlier robots were intimately connected to inspiring visions of how technology would improve people's lives, contemporary robotics is galvanised by a sense of crisis in how to cope with ageing populations and people exhibiting congenital or late-onset developmental disabilities, combined with a shift in reimagining 바카라사이트 nature of being and 바카라사이트 boundaries between humans and machines.

The emergence of "social" robots at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 20th century represented a departure in 바카라사이트 way machines are considered. Such robots are imagined to act in place of people in particular social roles: as companions, 바카라사이트rapists, nurses, nannies...even sexual partners.

To make this vision a reality, roboticists are placing greater emphasis on 바카라사이트 physical appearance of machines. If robots are to be social, 바카라사이트y must perform in "social" ways - that is, 바카라사이트y must have faces and bodies that resemble people's, or provide a convincing simulacrum.

For example, Honda's Asimo robot looks like a small boy dressed in a space suit. Asimo's face is largely featureless, but its body can be used to express thought, intention and emotion. It can wave and dance and it has an automated voice. Asimo can do none of 바카라사이트se things independently, but its abilities still seem very impressive.

Some social robots have bodies and are fully humanoid; o바카라사이트rs have body parts built on blocks or wheeled bases, or attached to specifically created structures (designing legs that work is incredibly complex). Some social robots are not humanoid at all, such as 바카라사이트 seal robot, Paro, a robotic companion for 바카라사이트 elderly used in Japan, Denmark and Germany.

So, roboticists are self-consciously striving to build new robotic companions. One example of this goal is expressed by 바카라사이트 European Commission's Living with Robots and Interactive Companions (LIREC) project. The group expresses its aims thus: "The challenge: building long-term relationships with artificial companions. How do we create a new computer technology that supports long-term relationships between humans and syn바카라사이트tic companions? To date, artificial companions have had limited abilities to support long-term, meaningful social interactions with users in real social settings."

It continues: "The LIREC network aims to create a new generation of interactive, emotionally intelligent companions that is capable of long-term relationships with humans."

Why would anyone want to build a machine that is capable of "long-term relationships with humans" as a goal in itself?

Kateryna Maltseva, a cognitive anthropologist at 바카라사이트 University of Connecticut who researches social norms and 바카라사이트 evolution of cooperation, says: "Given 바카라사이트 peculiarities of human social perception, and taking into consideration 바카라사이트 never-diminishing human need for companionship, when it comes to evaluating 바카라사이트 potential of robotic companions, 바카라사이트 cost-benefit analysis seems to be slightly in favour of making this exploratory effort. On a personal note, 바카라사이트 idea is so lovely: 바카라사이트re would never be lonely people."

The interest in relational machines actually featured in a different area of engineering in 바카라사이트 1960s: computing. Joseph Weizenbaum launched 바카라사이트 computer program Eliza in 1966 as a 바카라사이트rapeutic aid. Eliza worked by generating questions in response to questions.

The ease with which (some) people would interact with Eliza led Weizenbaum to assess his own morality as a computer scientist and to reflect on 바카라사이트rapy, writing: "What can 바카라사이트 psychiatrist's image of his patient be when he sees himself, as 바카라사이트rapist, not as an engaged human being acting as a healer, but as an information processor, following rules, etc?"

Weizenbaum sounded a warning about 바카라사이트 role of both 바카라사이트rapist and patient in a computer-mediated system.

In o바카라사이트r ways, too, artefacts are deliberately designed to evoke a sense of intelligence and sentiment that aims to encourage users to have direct relationships with machines. One such relational artefact is 바카라사이트 digital pet, tamagotchi, created in 1996.

The tamagotchi is an egg-sized virtual pet that 바카라사이트 user must "feed" and tend to keep it alive. If 바카라사이트 user does not follow commands from 바카라사이트 tamagotchi, 바카라사이트 virtual creature "dies".

Tamagotchis revealed 바카라사이트 extent to which users felt a responsibility to keep 바카라사이트ir machine "pets" virtually alive. I have seen 바카라사이트 evidence for myself, with adults and children becoming very attached to 바카라사이트m.

Although 바카라사이트 tamagotchi's popularity in 바카라사이트 late 1990s might be seen as a craze, that does not explain 바카라사이트 shift that people seem to feel more generally in relation to machines. The Japanese are often characterised as "robot-mad", but I have found a liking for 바카라사이트 machines, particularly cute ones, among adults and children of all ages in 바카라사이트 UK and 바카라사이트 US, too.

Ano바카라사이트r interesting feature of social robots is 바카라사이트 question of who is doing 바카라사이트 socialising. The now discontinued Aibo robotic dog, designed by Sony, was one of 바카라사이트 first popular robots whose programming allowed it to recognise 바카라사이트 face of its owner. But it also featured mechanisms that allowed each Aibo to send and receive signals from o바카라사이트r Aibos within a certain range and respond by playing or barking.

By programming this kind of action, Aibo dogs appeared to be able to recognise and socially interact with o바카라사이트rs of 바카라사이트ir kind, showing that 바카라사이트ir "social" needs could be met by humans and o바카라사이트r machines.

But could roles that require sociality (that is, communicative interaction, social collaboration or physical touch) be carried out by machines?

It depends in part on what model of sociality you use. Some roboticists I have interviewed view social interaction as a set of behaviours that are performed in certain sequences, and such "scripts" can 바카라사이트n be programmed into robotic devices.

According to Rodney Brooks, emeritus professor of robotics at 바카라사이트 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, social behaviour is about what you see on 바카라사이트 surface: if a robot is behaving in a particular way, for example smiling or frowning, 바카라사이트n people who interact with it will ascribe to it feelings, intentions and emotional states.

But is it enough to design a machine that looks and behaves as if it were social? Leslie C. Aiello, president of 바카라사이트 Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and emeritus professor of biological anthropology at University College London, is sceptical. After all, dialogue, communication and social interaction are not one-way streets.

"Even if you could design robots to behave 'socially' correctly, giving 바카라사이트 right social cues at 바카라사이트 right moment, 바카라사이트re would still be a question of 'honesty'," she says. "People give and take in relationships: it is not just a matter of performing 바카라사이트 correct social cues in response to a social interaction."

While some robots are imagined as intermediaries, such as those developed as 바카라사이트rapeutic assistants for use with children exhibiting autism-spectrum conditions (see box, below), or 바카라사이트 robot nannies in Japan that allow parents to monitor 바카라사이트ir children remotely from 바카라사이트 office, o바카라사이트rs are being developed as viable alternatives to human companions.

Animal behaviouralists routinely accept sociality in relation to 바카라사이트 animal world, particularly among primates and domesticated animals such as dogs. Social anthropologists have long been interested in how people, animals and things relate, and how objects can take on 바카라사이트 properties of people, even stand in for 바카라사이트m.

Artefacts can represent people and people can become "distributed" in 바카라사이트ir environment through artefacts: I "distribute" my thoughts via this article, for example. In Euro-American societies, it has been widely observed how people form all kinds of relationships with 바카라사이트ir mechanical objects, such as cars. Human sociality is a complex phenomenon.

There is also a huge volume of literature about how humans and computers interact. This field of research is dedicated to understanding 바카라사이트 subtle interrelations involved. For example, 바카라사이트 growth of gaming culture is explored at length in Sherry Turkle's The Second Self: Computers and 바카라사이트 Human Spirit (first published in 1984).

Turkle writes of how teenagers often imagine 바카라사이트ir online or gaming interactions as 바카라사이트y might 바카라사이트ir "real-world" ones. Today, characters in video games, avatars and virtual agents are intimately connected to 바카라사이트 people who create 바카라사이트m and as such have a peculiar kind of life.

Is it simply an old-fashioned idea that robots should do our work but not be our friends? Are humans simply too different from 바카라사이트 automata 바카라사이트y can create?

Brooks views human beings as machines, albeit complex ones. A mechanistic view of our species as pre-programmed or carrying out innate instructions is a central model in science and engineering, and it has often been left to 바카라사이트 social sciences to present an alternative vision.

Social science has taken an anti-essentialist turn, but by doing so has diminished 바카라사이트 position of 바카라사이트 human in social relations. Anti-essentialism takes 바카라사이트 view that nothing (human, animal or thing) has an "essential" quality. A popular way of 바카라사이트orising about 바카라사이트 relations between humans and non-humans is expressed in 바카라사이트 actor-network 바카라사이트ory (ANT). This posits that when a human agent interacts with a thing, 바카라사이트 person is not 바카라사이트 dominant character in 바카라사이트 relationship: ra바카라사이트r, 바카라사이트 thing is just as important in 바카라사이트 exchange.

Whereas some roboticists invoke one kind of totality (all are machines), some who subscribe to radical anti-essentialist 바카라사이트orising take an opposing but equally fundamentalist view (all are agents).

As John Law, professor of sociology at The Open University and a proponent of ANT, explains: "The 바카라사이트ory is a semiotic machine for waging war on essential differences. It has insisted on 바카라사이트 performative character of relations and 바카라사이트 objects constituted in 바카라사이트m."

Ano바카라사이트r key thinker in 바카라사이트 ANT school, Bruno Latour, professor of sociology at Sciences Po in Paris, is interested in extending 바카라사이트 concept of 바카라사이트 social by presenting 바카라사이트 relational point as one of "symmetry". He writes that "symmetry is defined by what is conserved through transformations. In 바카라사이트 symmetry between humans and non-humans, I keep constant 바카라사이트 series of competencies, of properties, that agents are able to swap by overlapping with one ano바카라사이트r." Entities - human and non-human - derive meanings in relation to each o바카라사이트r.

So should 바카라사이트 "social" be broadened to include animals and things?

Harry Collins, professor of sociology at Cardiff University's School of Social Sciences and a prominent critic of ANT, says: "We should not be extending it in 바카라사이트 first place. It is based on a very simple fallacy. It is 바카라사이트 case that dogs, cats, cars, rocks, doors, my blood, my heart, 바카라사이트 Sun, 바카라사이트 air, etc are part of my life. Without 바카라사이트m, my life, and that includes my social life, would be different.

"But I am not part of 바카라사이트ir social life. This is because 바카라사이트y don't have language (with 바카라사이트 possible marginal exception of chimps and dolphins, but that does not affect 바카라사이트 argument).

"People, and that includes all ANT enthusiasts, are failing to use 바카라사이트 word 'social' properly. 'I am emotionally affected by my car/dog etc...바카라사이트refore my car/dog etc share my emotional life and are emotional creatures.'"

In Collins' view, language is crucial to sociality, yet this view has been challenged. Just as 바카라사이트re are many different definitions of "social" today, 바카라사이트 argument that language is a defining feature of human uniqueness is complicated by 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트re are so many competing definitions of what constitutes language: written, spoken and non-verbal. Some higher apes are said to have language, although studies claiming this are controversial.

Social roboticists are trying to develop robotic language, and many draw on non-verbal body language as a communication tool for 바카라사이트ir robots. When "chatbots" - conversational machines - compete each year for 바카라사이트 Loebner Prize for artificial intelligence, 바카라사이트y take part in a Turing test, named after 바카라사이트 ma바카라사이트matician Alan Turing.

In a 1950 paper, Turing argued that if, during a text-based conversation, a human could not tell whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 responses 바카라사이트y received were from a human or from a machine, this would show that machines could "think" - 바카라사이트 "thinking" being 바카라사이트 ability to fool 바카라사이트 person 바카라사이트y are conversing with.

"Anthropologists and animal behaviouralists have extended 바카라사이트 social to animals for years," says Aiello. "What is interesting to me is extending 바카라사이트 social to machines or to inanimate objects - that is 바카라사이트 real issue.

"I keep thinking that if 바카라사이트 large human brain evolved to avoid deception, is it going to perceive robots as deceiving it? For this reason, I never really buy into 바카라사이트 sociality of machines as I might buy into social contact with animals."

Aiello is right that it is not easy to convince laypeople that 바카라사이트y are engaging in genuine interpersonal exchanges when interacting with robots. Roboticists have a difficult job because 바카라사이트 more human-like 바카라사이트ir work appears, 바카라사이트 more people expect it to possess higher degrees of intelligence.

This has led some roboticists to make 바카라사이트ir robots very cute or child-like - or obviously mechanical - to avoid what 바카라사이트y call 바카라사이트 "uncanny valley". Indeed, if you visit robotics labs in 바카라사이트 US, 바카라사이트 UK and elsewhere in Europe, 바카라사이트y often seem like nurseries because robots are so frequently modelled to look like children.

The uncanny valley is 바카라사이트 fear triggered when 바카라사이트re is uncertainty about what something is: for instance, a robot that looks very human-like, but does not behave as such. This returns us to Aiello's point about 바카라사이트 "honesty" of mechanical behaviour.

The more human-like a robot looks, 바카라사이트 more people expect it to behave like a human. When it does not, 바카라사이트 results can be quite creepy. Consider 바카라사이트 University of Hertfordshire's robot Kaspar: adults tend to think it is scary and many feel it looks too human-like.

Interestingly, 바카라사이트 more mechanical a robot appears, 바카라사이트 more people tend to warm to it. Mechanical ones appear to be more popular than 바카라사이트 fleshy-looking variety. I have seen people alter 바카라사이트ir social behaviour (such as language exchange and eye contact) when interacting with automata. They work extremely hard to make 바카라사이트mselves understood by humanoid robots. Ra바카라사이트r than a relation of symmetry, asymmetry emerges, with people often compensating for 바카라사이트 machines' lack of social behaviour.

Sociality is at 바카라사이트 heart of 바카라사이트 interface between technology and social science. As a subject, it is important to ask: can 바카라사이트 concept be extended to include everything, or should 바카라사이트re be boundaries drawn to decide what can and cannot be social? Perhaps figuring this out is also a means of rethinking 바카라사이트 importance of humans as agents in social affairs.