SKorean robot will walk the walk as well as talk the talk

"We are now working to improve the motion and upgrade intelligence so that next-generation androids can walk like a human, engage in more sophisticated conversations and have a wider range of facial expressions."

(Via Betterhumans.)

So far androids have failed to achieve anthropomorphic escape velocity; they've remained the stuff of technology conventions and speculative prototypes. But it's not unreasonable or difficult to imagine them truly "walking among us" in the near future, probably in a subservient context.

It's tempting to presume their human veneer will fail to keep us from treating them as anything but selfless machines . . . but, then again, don't we treat machines with a certain reverence (including but by no means limited to cars and video game consoles)?

If androids -- be they supermarket cashiers, waiters, receptionists or even sex-workers -- are sufficiently practical, I think it's likely we'll bestow upon them a pragmatic sort of dignity.

But then there's Moore's Law to deal with. Regardless of whether we achieve strong AI -- of even if self-aware machines are possible (a bone of contention among Posthuman Blues readers) -- androids will likely become just smart enough to become threatening, and our relationship with them will change accordingly. And if they do become "Turing compliant," we can expect a massive sociological rift we'd be wise to observe in detail -- because androids, regardless of their intended utility, will provide us with our first glimpse of what it's like to live in a world where intelligence isn't exclusive to humans.

One way or another, we'd better learn to get used to it.