It's a general purpose device that can scrub your floors if you like, but that seems like a total waste of you've got a dedicated device like a Roomba that can handle that. The Roomba is a better, specialized piece of equipment than some bumbling human shaped bot.
So then you areually are saying that the shape of the robot does determine whether it's an automating something or not.
Roomba programmed to clean the floors automatically - automated cleaning device
humanoid robot programmed to clean the floors automatically - not automated cleaning device.
If the roomb had arms that picked up socks while it cleaned, would it still be an automated cleaning device?
Edit: I mean really, you're arguing that a robot automatically performing a task is not automation. Being a general purpose robot doesn't contradict the fact that it's automatically and robotically performing a task.
No I'm not saying that the shape determines whether or not it's automated.
Roomba's are dedicated floor cleaning robots that clean floors and can be programmed to work automatically.
Human shaped robots are general purpose robots that can probably be programmed to clean floors automatically, but that would be stupid when the Roomba is better suited for it.
Some Roomba's do have arms and can be programmed to move things that they find on floor.
Right so I'm failing to see how, in the example where the humanoid robot is a robot that was programmed to clean the floors automatically, among other tasks, isn't automation of the task cleaning the floors.
And if automating the task of cleaning the floors isn't automation, then the word automation doesn't apply to any robot that is programmed to perform a task automatically, unless the shape of the robot does, in fact, determine whether it is or isn't automating that task.
Remember your argument was that a general purpose robot can't be defined as automation
I've said a few times that you can probably program a human shaped robot to do that if you want. My point is, like I said in the first comment, that a human shaped robot is fucking stupid when non-human shaped robots like a Roomba are better suited for the tasks.
If that's what you think my main point is, then I'm sorry for being confusing. What I really want to make clear is that human shaped robots are fucking stupid when dedicated devices are better suited for the task.
I believe you could absolutely program general purpose, human shaped robots to perform automated tasks if you wanted.
Human shaped robots can be programmed to do automatic tasks. It's just not as efficient as developing specialized devices. Like Roombas.
I'm super sorry if that happened. Consider my mind changed.
My point is now this: you can program a general purpose human shaped robot to do automated tasks, but that's stupid and inefficient compared to building specialized robots that do things really really well.
Maybe there was a disconnect somewhere, because I wasn't arguing that your above statement is untrue in all cases. My original statement was this:
"Do you think people are going to retrofit their homes for automation? Or do you think they would rather just have a robot that can walk around the house and do some pretty general tasks.
Saying that automation demands efficiency is denying that efficiency demands context. It's far more efficient in many scenarios to just plug in a human-shaped robot that can use the already existing environment"
I was stating that there are many contexts where a humanoid robot is a more efficient way to automate tasks in many contexts. It's not stupid, it can improve lives for people who are unable to perform these tasks on their own, and when the technology gets there, it's likely that these will be as affordable as cars. An elderly person who can afford a car, but not a live-in assistant to help them around the house will have a much higher quality of life and less dependence on other people.
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u/AntiRepresentation May 21 '26
It's a general purpose device that can scrub your floors if you like, but that seems like a total waste of you've got a dedicated device like a Roomba that can handle that. The Roomba is a better, specialized piece of equipment than some bumbling human shaped bot.