Robotics Reference
In-Depth Information
control which information is being processed (which clearly it can), but
that the robot is not always in total control. In the case of humans such
loss of control exhibits itself
...whereattemptstofocusattentiononurgentorimportanttasks
can be difficult or impossible because attention is being drawn back
tothefocusoftheanger,longing,grief,...,infatuation,.... [12]
To summarize Sloman's argument, in order to simulate a feeling of love
in a robot it is necessary to simulate the irregular loss of control of the
robot's thoughts and actions as it succumbs to its feelings of love. And
in order to “feel” love a robot will need to know that it likes a person
or robot, which will depend on its attitudes. It also needs to know the
degree to which that person or other robot is appealing.
Endowing a robot with such knowledge, such attitudes, and to simu-
late a loss of control of the robot's thought processes, all these program-
ming tasks are well within our present capabilities. So for robots, love is
just around the corner.
