Have you ever asked yourself this kind of question? What if a robot becomes your best friend?
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A best friend is someone who can lift you up when you feel down. He is someone whom you can confide your problems and opinions about anything under the sun to. He is someone whom you are not afraid to show your true self and most of all, he is one of the first few people whom you expect to accept you for who you are next to your family. Best friends mostly refer to humans only but sometimes, dogs are already related with this word. But this time, we will relate this term with robots. So, can robots become your best friend? Do they have the capacity to love and treat you like how a human best friend should?
We will be tackling the possible consequences of having a robot best friend and the advantages and disadvantages of having one. Here we start.
The Advantages:
1. No prejudice
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I think there will be no prejudice from your robot best friend when you confide your problems with him or confess what your current situation is because he is not a human. He will not judge you for who you are and for what you've gone through because he is only programmed to be empathetic (provided that he is), to listen to your problems, and to give you pieces of advice on how to solve them. He will give you honest-to-goodness pieces of advice on how to solve your problems based on how he analyzes your situation and he will not give you a resolution that will just bring out the worst in you.
2. No betrayal
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Given that he is programmed to be your true friend, of course he won't betray you because he is set to be loyal, won't also change friends, will choose to stay with you, and won't gossip behind your back or change personality when you aren't around. What you see is what you get. He will not be a two-faced creature.
He will stay loyal to you. Sometimes, you cannot rely people in general because you don't know how their minds run and they can betray you anytime they want. They can be selfish and arrogant who only think of themselves. But with robots, they will think of you if they are programmed to and will value you as their true friend.
*Just like Pepper!
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3. Helps through thick or thin
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No matter what your problems may be, he will do his best to help you unless he has no power to continue doing it. He can protect you at times of hazard if he is programmed to. He will do his best to cheer you up when you feel sad.
4. No hate, just love
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Robots are presumed to be emotionless and can't beat humans in terms of emotions. They can't feel hate or anger and so, it is presumed that they won't get angry at you also. Instead, what they can give is love and emotional support (if they are programmed to). You will not learn how to hate from them and instead, how they care for humans.
5. No jealousy
If you achieve a milestone in your life or become successful at something, some 'fake' friends will get 'jealous' at you. However, the robot isn't like that. It's either he's going to be happy or be neutral about it. The point is he won't hate you for being successful. He can even congratulate you. Isn't it amazing to have a friend who won't be 'jealous' at you?
6. No hatred/grudge
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He will also not feel hatred since he is emotionless. They will not have no hidden grudge so you can be sure that what they're showing you is what they are and you can never question their genuineness towards you.
The Disadvantages:
1. No emotions
Photo Source: Greg Clarke (newyorker.com)
Yes, robots can't get angry but this concept may be taken negatively. As they are emotionless, they might not also completely sympathize with you. If you hug them, they might not understand why you are doing so. They might just stand/sit still. If you cry, they can comfort you not from their own intitiative but because they are programmed to. Their empathizing words might also be limited and repetitive.
2. No relatability to some life aspects
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Robots might not be able to relate to all aspects in your life so if you talk to them about things that could be difficult for them to relate to like depression (Again, robots are presumably emotionless.), sadness, taking a shower (They don't need to.), going to a restroom because of stomach ache (They don't experience such.), talking about delicious food (They don't need to eat.), etc, they might not be able to give you appropriate answers and the worst, they might just stare at you wondering what you're talking about.
3. Probable short life span
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Just like a battery that doesn't last long when often used, a robot's life span might not be long also as it is not originally organic. If it's made of metal, it can still get rusty so if it gets so, it might become immobile in the long run and can stop functioning eventually. Emotionally painful it may seem but whoever may own a robot best friend must prepare himself if it happens.
4. Being costly
*This humanoid robot, Asimo, can be bought for a minimum price of $2.5 million.
Photo Source: Zeeshan Haider (abouticles.com)
Anything unique, comfortable, and convenient comes with a price so does a robot best friend. Do you think if the robot best friend is realized, it will come in cheaply? No, it won't. It's a rare thing so I'm sure its creators will make it difficult to buy and only the financially abundant can afford it. So make sure if it becomes realized and you want to afford it, save money and never spend it on things you don't need.
*These are just some of the robots that could be your best friend.
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So far, this is my blog on what happens when a robot becomes your best friend. Did you like it? Please stay tuned for more of my Artificial Intelligence blogs as I might write one that could interest you. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!
