This Post Has 9 Comments

1. I’m a roboticist. This is a good book.
   I’ve been building robots for fun and for pay for 20 years, and at this point I have some pretty strong feelings on the technology and how it’s perceived by mainstream media and pop culture. Believe me when I tell you Darling’s book is on point. She proposes a paradigm for human/robot coexistence that reflects not just the actual capabilities of robotic technology, but also what humanity actually wants and needs – not just what we *think* we want because we watch a lot of sci-fi movies. I’ve recommended this book to multiple coworkers thinking through human/robot interaction – I think the industry can learn a lot from the way Darling thinks.Beyond just being “right”, Darling also wrote a very readable and enjoyable book, with a ton of fascinating history about the ways humans and animals have partnered. Enthusiastically recommended to anyone, whether you’re already in the robotics industry or you’re just curious about why we don’t have Rosie from the Jetsons yet.

   Reply

2. Informative!
   This book really opened my eyes to a lot of things. I found some of the experiments that were conducted with small focus groups of people to be extremely interesting and revealing. I think there is hope for humanity and our future relationship with robots. Yes, there are evil people, there always will be whether they’re dealing with animals, children or robots. But I have hope that technology and good will prevail.

   Reply

3. Insightful though sometimes a little confusing
   Overall I liked this book. It was a cool idea to start with the premise that an analogy between robots and animals could be a valuable way of thinking about robots for many purposes. The author then takes this idea as far as she can in several different directions, drawing on a diverse set of perspectives and her own varied background. It’s not a new concept but a good one. The book explains it well and has a lot of valuable insights.In some ways I thought she actually undersold her own argument. For example, she carefully shows how anthropomorphization of robots can lead to poor decisions in the law and in social relationships. But then after making a good case that comparing robots to animals might often be a more appropriate analogy, she goes on to try to make the case for anthropomorphization of animals. I suppose she’s trying to do justice to opposing arguments, but it ends up being somewhat confusing.There are times when her argument seems to reach a dead end, where she could rescue it by using the robot-as-tools metaphor, and sometimes she acknowledges this, but then she doesn’t follow through. For example, late in the book she discusses experiments with robots that look like cute animals, and how people react to them. But she passes on the chance to simply say that if a robot isn’t intended to elicit human emotions, then a good industrial designer will make sure it doesn’t do that (e.g. by making it ugly or utilitarian-looking). The psychological insights here are interesting but might be better as a separate book since they seem to stray from the book’s main points.A clever thing the author does throughout the book is inject personal stories. It helps make the book easy and friendly to read. But more than that, it provides evidence why anthropomorphization of robots is so misguided. The experience of being a member of a recently marginalized group (women in tech); the joy of being a new Mom; the choice not to eat meat; and the challenge of trying to convince people to let go of conventional wisdom. These aren’t frivolous differences: they are very important to the individual, part of the core of being human, and the source of a lot of our creativity and insight. A good industrial designer would never want or need to design these human traits into a robot.

   Reply

4. Wonderful Addition to the Robot Rights Literature
   Dr. Darling provides a comprehensive introductory reader for those interested in the issues of human social relations with robots. She argues that we can understand our relation to robots in light of our journey with animals and the concerns associated with the animal rights movement. Darling is a leading expert and voice of reason in discerning the future ahead for both humans and robots. This work is a must read for scholars and lay readers alike. Buy a copy or two!

   Reply

5. Important book arrived on time
   I received the book quickly and in condition described. I would buy from this seller again.

   Reply

6. My new favorite non fiction book!
   This book was absolutely amazing. This was my first time diving into robotics and Kate Darling did an excellent job of keeping the material accessible but super insightful. Loved it and will be recommending it to everyone!

   Reply

7. Pleasant surprise
   Saw the author interviewed on joe Rogan. Interesting topic. So I ordered the book. Instead of written in scientific jargon, the book is fun and enjoyable to read. Way better than I thought it would be.

   Reply

8. Fascinating
   A look to the past on how we treated our animals from not noticing them, to they make work simpler for us, to the family pet and how our treatment of animals will tell us how we will treat robots in our future.I found this interesting. She goes into the history of animals in human society and how we treated them. There is humor here and truth in what she says. She says that how we have treated animals in the past is the steppingstone to how we will treat robots in our future. We put human characteristics on animals, and we are starting to do it with some robots that are in our lives. As robots become more prevalent the question is how much humanness will we give them? I enjoyed how she says non-scientists use Isaac Asimov’s ROBOTS as a starting point. She points out that robots are not human, and humans are programming robots. I liked that she admits that sometimes she just has to walk away.I liked how she look at the history of humans and animals with a little robot thrown in, then looks at present day and how animals went from work to companion, then looks at the future where there are more robots. She asks questions about laws and responsibility when things go wrong with a robot and a human or property is damaged. She makes good points.This is easy to read. I found humor in it but also important ideas we need to think of as robots become more present in our workplace and homes.

   Reply

9. I think it’s a good read for anyone interested in social robotics, HCI/HRI, ethics of AI or anthropology of technology. Not too technical so everyone can read it.I don’t know why but I think it’s somehow a good supplement to James Bridle’s Ways of Being which I bought few weeks before this one.

   Reply