Smartphones don't cry
[Commentary] Staring at a face reflected in the gleaming surface of a new iPad, or hearing Siri's synthesized voice answer questions on an iPhone, it's easy to imagine that there's something more than just microchips and wires inside those smart machines. There isn't. But scientists envision a day when computing devices and their software will not only be as smart as the humans who designed them but also be able to upgrade themselves. Then what happens? At a recent and somewhat whimsical panel discussion in Austin, Texas, a trio of robotics experts disagreed on whether events are leading inexorably to a Hollywood-style battle between robots and their creators. But they raised an issue to grapple with today: whether humans should treat their increasingly lifelike machines humanely. The downside is that the more we treat machines as our friends, the easier it will be for them to enslave us. But then, smartphones appear to have done that already.
Smartphones don't cry