# Should people be replaced by Robots?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [November 21, 2002, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002 "2002-11-21T19:39:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BZ00000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BZ00000)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/1 "2002-11-21T19:39:15Z")
Should we as a people try to develop robots that can take over for humans? Now I know what you thinking I want human culture to survive. But I think robots will help our culture survive better. Humans are wasteful, mean evil creatures. We have brought our world to the very edge of destruction. We need to be replaced if our culture is to survive (the culture will survive through the robots.)
It’s not like this isn’t the way things are going to go anyways (unless we destroy ourselves), but we need to get the robots ready as soon as possible.
I was brought to this conclusion after it was shown to me how are harmful people are in this thread.
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=145320](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=145320)
---
### Author:  [@BZ00000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BZ00000)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/2 "2002-11-21T19:45:17Z")
By the way, I don’t think we should kill poeple, just let the robots take over over time.
---
### Author:  [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/3 "2002-11-21T19:45:26Z")
WAIT A SECOND!!!
Are you telling us that you are actually human?
_Alert_ There is a human among us! _Siren wails!!_
Get him boys!
---
### Author:  [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/4 "2002-11-21T19:45:33Z")
May we begin with you? 😉
---
### Author:  [@BZ00000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BZ00000)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/5 "2002-11-21T19:53:17Z")
Libertarian, what do you mean?
---
### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/6 "2002-11-21T19:57:50Z")
I have a hard time imagining getting a blow job from a robot. Will it have nice tits? Like to swallow?
I think I need to see the robot before I answer the question.
---
### Author:  [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/7 "2002-11-21T20:00:44Z")
How old are you BZ?
And for question 2:
Do you actually think anyone would do what you suggest?
What would the point be, of making robots to “take over for us”?
I feel your cheese has slipped of your cracker, and further more, someone has gone and stepped on your cheese.
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/8 "2002-11-21T20:05:20Z")
That does it. I’m upping my Robot Attack Insurance coverage.
---
### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/9 "2002-11-21T20:13:29Z")
He eez ze Cylon schpy! Makkin’ mit der schtompen!
All Cylon schpies _tick_ ven you vind dem up, but ve gots vays to make you _tock_!
---
### Author:  [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/10 "2002-11-21T20:18:22Z")
Huh? 😕
---
### Author:  [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/11 "2002-11-21T20:21:16Z")
I would say the creation of superior intelligence is [The Meaning of Life](http://sysopmind.com/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html).
> [@](#):
>
> Our role in the cosmos is to become or create our successors.
Of course, I’m of the opinion that machines won’t replace biology and biology won’t replace machines as much as the two will merge and create something greater then has existed before in either group. I suspect humans are just “wet” machines anyway. Hopefully older generations can be retrofitted. I’d like to stick around for the 2nd Act myself.
> [@](#):
>
> At some point in the near future, someone will come up with a method of increasing the maximum intelligence on the planet - either coding a true Artificial Intelligence or enhancing human intelligence. An enhanced human would be better at thinking up ways of enhancing humans; would have an “increased capacity for invention”. What would this increased ability be directed at? Creating the next generation of enhanced humans. Either way Homo-Sapien’s time is running out quick. We WILL either destroy ourselves or improve ourselves to the point where we are something totally different. The telesoping nature of technological advancement seems to make this inevitable. The only thing that is for sure is that things will not stay the same.
>
> And what would those doubly enhanced minds do? Research methods on triply enhanced humans, or build AI minds operating at computer speeds. And an AI would be able to reprogram itself, directly, to run faster - or smarter. And then our crystal ball explodes, “life as we know it” is over, and everything we know goes out the window.
DaLovin’ Dj
---
### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/12 "2002-11-21T20:24:09Z")
BZ, no offense, but this is kind of a stupid idea.
The point to human culture is that it enhanced the existence of HUMANS. There’s no reason for human culture to exist if humans aren’t around to enjoy it. Human culture has no objective reason for existing, and neither, for that matter, do humans. We exist because as life forms, we want to exist, and culture exists because we want it to exist.
You’re engaging in one half of the ultimate nihilistic argument, which is “What’s the point to our existence? We should all just die.” You’re just saying we should all just die, but culture should live on… but at that point why bother with the culture part? Nihilism is only internally consistent if you go all the way.
Furthermore, I find it unlikely we could create machines that could continue to reliably maintain thir own existence after we were gone. It’s unlikely that without intelligent creatures guiding, creating and repairing them, the robots would last long before they broke down and died out themselves; before they broke down and died out themselves; before they broke down and died out themselves; before they broke down and died out themselves; before they broke down and died out themselves; before they broke down and died out themsTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
BREAK
MEMERROR 152 ILLEGAL MEM CALL 3450
FATAL ERROR
RickJay OS 14.26
bootseq
runsub startdaemon rickjayai
Loaded
runsub startdaemon surf
Loaded
runsub startdaemon turingai176
diskerror
File Not Found
Abort, Retry, Cancel?
Abort, Retry, Cancel?
---
### Author:  [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/13 "2002-11-21T20:31:35Z")
Fucked up that last quote. It should have been:
> [@](#):
>
> At some point in the near future, someone will come up with a method of increasing the maximum intelligence on the planet - either coding a true Artificial Intelligence or enhancing human intelligence. An enhanced human would be better at thinking up ways of enhancing humans; would have an “increased capacity for invention”. What would this increased ability be directed at? Creating the next generation of enhanced humans.
>
> And what would those doubly enhanced minds do? Research methods on triply enhanced humans, or build AI minds operating at computer speeds. And an AI would be able to reprogram itself, directly, to run faster - or smarter. And then our crystal ball explodes, “life as we know it” is over, and everything we know goes out the window.
It was written by Eliezer S. Yudkowsky and the following part was written by me and accidentally posted in the quote:
> [@](#):
>
> Either way Homo-Sapien’s time is running out quick. We WILL either destroy ourselves or improve ourselves to the point where we are something totally different. The telesoping nature of technological advancement seems to make this inevitable. The only thing that is for sure is that things will not stay the same.
Sorry.
---
### Author:  [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/14 "2002-11-21T20:31:37Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Libertarian \*
> May we begin with you? 😉
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by BZ00000 \*
> Libertarian, what do you mean?
I’m sure **Libertarian** can speak for himself, but I assume he meant “on what basis would you personally survive the Big Phase Out?”
How are you going to define the criteria to use to determine which humans are replaced by robots and which are not? What would the stages be? If your exercise would involve replacing _all_ humans with robots, then in what way would human culture survive at all?
---
### Author:  [@BZ00000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BZ00000)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/15 "2002-11-21T20:45:41Z")
I am talking about a voluntary phase out by not having offspring (nobody is to be replaced). The robots will be our offspring.
I don’t think there is no point to our existance. This why we need to save our culture. Robots have a better chance than us. If everybody were to die, our living culture would be lost.
---
### Author:  [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/16 "2002-11-21T20:49:33Z")
So let me get this straight:
Because you don’t think there’s no point to our existance, you think that the rest of humanity will volunteer to be phased out?
I’ll take the bait and ask:
Why, oh why BZ, is there no point to our existance?
---
### Author:  [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/17 "2002-11-21T20:51:30Z")
Describe these robots you have in mind please.
---
### Author:  [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/18 "2002-11-21T20:51:46Z")
Also, if there is no point to our existance, why should our culture be saved?
---
### Author:  [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/19 "2002-11-21T20:52:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I was brought to this conclusion after it was shown to me how are harmful people are in this thread.
> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...threadid=145320](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...threadid=145320)
Well dog-owning humans can turn mean when it’s suggested that they should either put their dogs to sleep or be shot.
But what do I know? I am but a lowly droid.
---
### Author:  [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2002, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002/20 "2002-11-21T20:54:46Z")
Is this voluntary phase out to result in humans being replaced entirely, or do some human descendents survive? If we all go, you’re left with the problem of how does human culture survive without us?
If there _are_ to be human survivors - which ones? The children of the ones who didn’t volunteer to remain childless. So how does it benefit society if the children of the survivors exhibit the human characteristics you condemn as “harmful”?
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-replaced-by-robots/138002.md?page=2)