This episode covered multiple key points about people who may enjoy speaking with robots and computers more than humans.

One example is , Robert Epstein’s experience with online dating, where he eventually virtually fell inlove with a Bot. this conversation was similar to the Programs like Cleverbot and ELIZA– concepts where people tend to isolate themselves for digital communication because these Bots are programmed to “tell them what they want to hear.” ELIZA was eventually shut down because the creator was so disturbed by the discontinuation of Real life and Virtual communication it was causing.

Another example is Furby, a furry little friend designed for children, programmed to just be a loveable toy and keep A child company. Freedom Baird is a woman who tested Furbys programming system by asking a group of children to hold a Furby, a barbie, and a gerbil upside down- to see which toy/ animal they would have the most sympathy for. The results were that because of Furbys programming system to scream and cry when help at the angle, they treated it more like the living, breathing, gerbil than the static tangible barbie doll and could not hold it upside down for than a few seconds. This experiment was a second example of humans feeling more connected to a programmed computer/ robot than another human because of programmed responses other than the quiet and unresponsive nature of a barbie.

The Final experiment discussed during the podcast was a interview Jon Ronson held with Bina48, a bot who looked and acted essientially exactly the same way as a woman named Bina Rothblatt. Rothblatt commissioned this idea in order to propose the idea promoting technological immortality via mind uploading and geoethical nanotechnology. David Hanson, Bina48s creator, procclaims that his creation may change the future forever, providing that in his lifetime he will create robots that are indistinguishable from humans.

this video also documents this  —- an intriguing conversation documenting Martime Rothblatts inverviewing Bina48.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYshJRYCArE&w=560&h=315]

-erica vitucci