# How should a robot look in a post scarcity utopia? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 5, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166 "2025-03-05T16:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/21 "2025-03-06T00:19:57Z")
I would expect personal service robots to look like cartoons. Personable, friendly, visibly not human but based on the human form. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Mori_Uncanny_Valley.svg/1024px-Mori_Uncanny_Valley.svg.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Mori_Uncanny_Valley.svg/1024px-Mori_Uncanny_Valley.svg.png) [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/Black_Butler_1.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/Black_Butler_1.png) [![](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/a6f4efe5-33f7-4715-b305-ce8aec8e2776/dfrxd6t-dda1c691-4068-4f88-abb9-168bcbcabe08.png/v1/fit/w_828,h_1242,q_70,strp/3d_cartoon_robot_by_asparuxx_dfrxd6t-414w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTUzNiIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2E2ZjRlZmU1LTMzZjctNDcxNS1iMzA1LWNlOGFlYzhlMjc3NlwvZGZyeGQ2dC1kZGExYzY5MS00MDY4LTRmODgtYWJiOS0xNjhiY2JjYWJlMDgucG5nIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEwMjQifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.mlZikUIlh_K-ne0AOnHX9jUZn-AQpWBmvTERc3wcpEY) ](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/a6f4efe5-33f7-4715-b305-ce8aec8e2776/dfrxd6t-dda1c691-4068-4f88-abb9-168bcbcabe08.png/v1/fit/w_828,h_1242,q_70,strp/3d_cartoon_robot_by_asparuxx_dfrxd6t-414w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTUzNiIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2E2ZjRlZmU1LTMzZjctNDcxNS1iMzA1LWNlOGFlYzhlMjc3NlwvZGZyeGQ2dC1kZGExYzY5MS00MDY4LTRmODgtYWJiOS0xNjhiY2JjYWJlMDgucG5nIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEwMjQifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.mlZikUIlh_K-ne0AOnHX9jUZn-AQpWBmvTERc3wcpEY) (Modify above image to place on pupil in each eye.) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/22 "2025-03-06T00:22:23Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > No, it implies we like being surrounded by things that look alive instead of grey, black and white boxes. Nothing in a utopian society prevents a person from surrounding themself with people unless they are just an asshole nobody wants to be around. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/23 "2025-03-06T00:32:57Z")
If there isn’t at least one that looks like R2D2, I’m out. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/24 "2025-03-06T00:34:24Z")
Robots protecting humans in a post-scarcity utopia need not necessarily be slaves. We might be their beloved, pampered pets upon which their benefaction effectively grants more freedom and other advantages than any human has ever enjoyed in our current world. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/25 "2025-03-06T01:18:09Z")
The hooker-bots should be passing. (And before you tell me that sex-work=slavery, let me tell you about a time I walked into a strip club with a week’s pay in my pocket, and walked out without enough coins for a pay phone. In a relationship between a male human and a robot with a 2000 IQ and 36-24-36, the human is unlikely to be the dominant partner.) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/26 "2025-03-06T01:41:47Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In a relationship between a male human and a robot with a 2000 IQ and 36-24-36, the human is unlikely to be the dominant partner.) But what’s in it for the ‘bot? You got something from the transaction. Only the sexbot’s owner (master) is getting paid. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/27 "2025-03-06T01:51:45Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > If there isn’t at least one that looks like R2D2, I’m out. They’re going to look like this: [![](https://magazineclonerepub.azureedge.net/mcepub/2279/236898/image/11c43a54-de48-4aac-b72e-3b836f8ada1f.jpg) ](https://magazineclonerepub.azureedge.net/mcepub/2279/236898/image/11c43a54-de48-4aac-b72e-3b836f8ada1f.jpg) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/28 "2025-03-06T01:56:57Z")
I forsee two groups of robots that would need to look and act as human as possible; caregivers and sexbots. The reasons for the latter are obvious. Carebots would need to have alot of direct interaction with humans in our living environment. Sick and injured humans. Humans with varying levels of cognition like babies and elders with dementia (eldercare in the future is going to involve lots of automation and/or euthanasia). However the uncanny valley is a real thing; it should be easy to give androids details like unnatural hair/eye/skin colors to make them different enough to be recognized instantly as non-human. Of course in a society that advanced there’s bound to be alot of bored people with the time and resources to turn themselves into citizens of the Capital of Panem. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/29 "2025-03-06T02:04:05Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > But what’s in it for the ‘bot? You got something from the transaction. Only the sexbot’s owner (master) is getting paid. I think the robot is likely to be legally, socially, and financially independent. Oh, and let me rephrase the part you quoted: In a relationship between a non-asexual male human, and a robot with a 2000 IQ and custom-made anatomy, the human is unlikely to be the dominant partner. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/30 "2025-03-06T02:45:38Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > They’re going to look like this: In that case, they’re also arguably sentient and sapient enough to go to hell. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/31 "2025-03-06T02:51:09Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > In that case, they’re also arguably sentient and sapient enough to go to hell. 😉 Well, when they spiritually and physically merge with their creators. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166/32 "2025-03-06T10:58:41Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Nothing in a utopian society prevents a person from surrounding themself with people unless they are just an asshole nobody wants to be around. And people surrounded by cold inhuman machinery feel unhappy and alienated as a group, which just makes the problem bigger. Also, not everyone is an extrovert. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-robot-look-in-a-post-scarcity-utopia/1015166.md?page=1)