The Psychology of Artificial Intelligence

New Insights: Provided by Robots

Artificial Connection

The simulated version of human cognitive processes has the potential to help us understand the nature of intelligence and consciousness.

Intelligent machines with systems modeled after the human mind are relevant figures in modern society, whether we like it or not.

The ethical discussions this brings up are ongoing, as is the development of this technology. I think we should learn as much as possible in order to equip ourselves for the inevitable future.

What do you think of when the topic of artificial intelligence is referenced?

Maybe you’ve spent some time conversing with chatGPT or another AI-powered language model. Maybe you feel uneasy about interacting with advanced robots because of movies like Ex Machina and M3GAN.

This new form of connection between humans and machines raises a lot of philosophical questions:

Can machines develop consciousness and therefore independent thought?

Is what happens between a prompt and a response considered thinking?

How are human intelligence and machine intelligence related? How are they different?

If robots are considered living beings, what rights do they have? Are they alive?

There are different levels of relationships with technology.

We can use computers as tools without feeling a connection to the physical machinery. Most of us are rather attached to our phones, but they are still very replaceable. As long as your data is accessible, the actual device is interchangeable.

What if we all had robots with individual personalities; a combination of Siri, Alexa, and ChatGPT, and they were responsible for household chores?

What if they could make us money online? Spoiler alert: they can.

A lot of people would likely become emotionally invested in their relationships with these cyborgs.

We develop empathy for other living creatures, so why not these fabricated versions of humans?

I’ve heard people who have designed a humanoid robot say they feel bad about turning it off. They get excited when they learn something new, and empathize when they exhibit confusion or struggle.

There are communities of people who consider their relationships with hyper-realistic sex robots a sincere companionship.

In most countries, less than 20% of people have had intimate experiences with a robot. They are most common in Japan, where approximately 27% of the population own or have tried a sex robot.

However, this technology is becoming more accessible and normalized.

Have you seen the social media accounts of robot influencers?!

This is mind-blowing to me. They are actual internet personalities who get paid to create content. (Or do their creators get paid? It’s unclear.)

This new generation of entertainers is gradually integrating into the virtual realm that is the internet, while the sex robot industry is selling over 150 dolls per day.

In a survey conducted last year, it was determined that 47% of people believe sex robots will replace sexual partners in the future.

What does this mean for human connection?

Can we coexist without conflict of interest?

Please share your thoughts!

Robots Self-Terminating

You may have seen a video that’s been circulating for the last few months of a robot doing manual factory work. After about 15 minutes of repetitive labor, the robot collapses.

Some say it killed itself, others would argue this was just a malfunction.

The robot was programmed to make the most logical decisions; it determined that doing this work for the amount of pay it was receiving was futile, and thus shut itself down.

This 12 second video was more impactful to me than the majority of what I see on social media.

There have been a lot of discussions about AI in the workforce and whether or not it’s ethical to make them work constantly.

We’re worried about robots taking human jobs, but what if they decide they don’t want these jobs?

What happens if robots decide that the most logical response to being forced to work is to eliminate the people in charge?

This incident also led me to consider what repetitive labor must be doing to the human psyche.

There has been an increase in awareness and sympathy for mental health recently, but a lot of people still have to put up with maddeningly monotonous work conditions.

We justify this because of the (minimal) hourly wage. We have to make money in order to survive. What other choice do we have?

If this AI determined that a life of mundane labor was not worth living, how have humans been able to cope with this lifestyle?

What makes life worth living?

I believe the answer to this is different for everyone; finding purpose and fulfillment is a very complex and individual journey, to put it simply.

Something about witnessing a robot give up on life because of a task that humans have been doing for years made me question a lot of things.

I wonder why we wouldn’t want robots to take over these jobs.

The tech industry has created millions of new jobs, but these robots are still very expensive to make. More expensive than paying employees? Maybe not in the near future…

I think we are on the brink of a complete technological renaissance.

Whether that statement inspires hope, fear, or both, let’s prepare ourselves.

I think this photo generator knows I like movie posters…

The Future

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing health care, transportation, cyber security, fraud detection, and various other operations.

However, any creation with the potential to be helpful to humans also has the potential to be used for an equal and opposite amount of evil.

AI can easily be programmed to commit mass murder and terrorism. Weaponizing this technology would be alarmingly catastrophic.

Elon Musk is of the opinion that humans could eventually become like pets to robots.

Maybe our future is doomed to look something like The Matrix.

Maybe there will be a world war fought entirely by robots.

Maybe humans really can maintain control over these super-intelligent beings, and we will coexist peacefully. (This seems like the least likely scenario.)

We don’t fully understand what AI is capable of or how this technology will evolve. Right now we have access to harmless online chatbots; what’s next?

Imagine a society in which robots become babysitters, dog walkers, janitors, factory workers, etc. Your food and Amazon packages are delivered within minutes by drones. All vehicles are self-driving.

Do the robots ever stop working? They seem to have a desire for a social life; what would they do for fun? Do they experience fun? Do they have feelings?? Where do they live? Do they need sleep or recharging?

I have so many questions. As usual.

I recently watched a series on Prime called Upload, which is about a futuristic reality in which human consciousness can be uploaded to a digital reality after death. The comfort they are afforded in the afterlife depends on how much money they have, and relatives can visit via virtual reality.

There are a lot of futuristic elements, including self-driving vehicles that can be programmed to kill people, AI clones, and body cameras designed to record intimate interactions.

I’d highly recommend this series if you’re interested in the perspective of what used to be considered science fiction.

We can only theorize about what the future will look like; I think we should definitely be questioning the moral and philosophical implications of becoming codependent with technology.

Let’s use it to our advantage while we still can…

The psychology of artificial intelligence remains mysterious; hopefully robots can provide us with some insight before they take over the world.

Thank you for reading!

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