Guilty Robots, Happy Dogs

Guilty Robots, Happy Dogs

Author: David McFarland

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2009-03-12

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0191578746

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When we interact with animals, we intuitively read thoughts and feelings into their expressions and actions - it is easy to suppose that they have minds like ours. And as technology grows more sophisticated, we might soon find ourselves interpreting the behaviour of robots too in human terms. It is natural for us to humanize other beings in this way, but is it philosophically or scientifically justifiable? How different might the minds of animals or machines be to ours? As David McFarland asks here, could robots ever feel guilty, and is it correct to suppose your dog can truly be happy? Can we ever know what non-human minds might be like, or will the answer be forever out of our reach? These are central and important questions in the philosophy of mind, and this book is an accessible exploration of the differing philosophical positions that can be taken on the issue. McFarland looks not only at philosophy, but also examines new evidence from the science of animal behaviour plus the latest developments in robotics and artificial intelligence, to show how many different - and sometimes surprising - conclusions we can draw about the nature of 'alien minds'.


Living with Robots

Living with Robots

Author: Paul Dumouchel

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2017-11-06

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0674971736

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Preface to the English edition -- Introduction -- The substitute -- Animals, machines, cyborgs, and the taxi -- Mind, emotions, and artificial empathy -- The other otherwise -- From moral and lethal machines to synthetic ethics


Advanced Research on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures

Advanced Research on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures

Author: Vallverdú, Jordi

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2017-01-25

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 1522519483

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There are many different approaches to understanding human consciousness. By conducting research to better understand various biological mechanisms, these can be redefined and utilized for technological purposes. Advanced Research on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures is an essential reference source for the latest scholarly research on the biological elements of human cognition and examines the applications of consciousness within computing environments. Featuring exhaustive coverage on a broad range of innovative topics and perspectives, such as artificial intelligence, bio-robotics, and human-computer interaction, this publication is ideally designed for academics, researchers, professionals, graduate students, and practitioners seeking current research on the exploration of the intricacies of consciousness and different approaches of perception.


The Laws of Robots

The Laws of Robots

Author: Ugo Pagallo

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-05-16

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 9400765649

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This book explores how the design, construction, and use of robotics technology may affect today’s legal systems and, more particularly, matters of responsibility and agency in criminal law, contractual obligations, and torts. By distinguishing between the behaviour of robots as tools of human interaction, and robots as proper agents in the legal arena, jurists will have to address a new generation of “hard cases.” General disagreement may concern immunity in criminal law (e.g., the employment of robot soldiers in battle), personal accountability for certain robots in contracts (e.g., robo-traders), much as clauses of strict liability and negligence-based responsibility in extra-contractual obligations (e.g., service robots in tort law). Since robots are here to stay, the aim of the law should be to wisely govern our mutual relationships.


Posthumanism: A Guide for the Perplexed

Posthumanism: A Guide for the Perplexed

Author: Peter Mahon

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-02-23

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 1474236812

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In Posthumanism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Peter Mahon goes beyond recent theoretical approaches to 'the posthuman' to argue for a concrete posthumanism, which arises as humans, animals and technology become entangled, in science, society and culture. Concrete posthumanism is rooted in cutting-edge advances in techno-science, and this book offers readers an exciting, fresh and innovative exploration of this undulating, and often unstable, terrain. With wide-ranging coverage, of cybernetics, information theory, medicine, genetics, machine learning, politics, science fiction, philosophy and futurology, Mahon examines how posthumanism played-and continues to play-a crucial role in shaping how we understand our world. This analysis of posthumanism centers on human interactions with tools and technology, the centrality of science, as well as an understanding of techno-science as a pharmakon-an ancient Greek word for a substance that is both poison and cure. Mahon argues that posthumanism must be approached with an interdisciplinary attitude: a concrete posthumanism is only graspable through knowledge derived from science and the humanities. He concludes by sketching a 'post-humanities' to help us meet the challenges of posthumanism, challenges to which we all must rise. Posthumanism: A Guide for the Perplexed provides a concise, detailed and coherent exploration of posthumanism, introducing key approaches, concepts and themes. It is ideal for readers of all stripes who are interested in a concrete posthumanism and require more than just a simple introduction.


Robotics: A Very Short Introduction

Robotics: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Alan Winfield

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2012-09-27

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 0191646482

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Robotics is a key technology in the modern world. Robots are a well-established part of manufacturing and warehouse automation, assembling cars or washing machines, and, for example, moving goods to and from storage racks for Internet mail order. More recently robots have taken their first steps into homes and hospitals, and seen spectacular success in planetary exploration. Yet, despite these successes, robots have failed to live up to the predictions of the 1950s and 60s, when it was widely thought - by scientists and engineers as well as the public - that by turn of the 21st century we would have intelligent robots as butlers, companions, or co-workers. This Very Short Introduction explains how it is that robotics can be both a success story and a disappointment, how robots can be both ordinary and remarkable, and looks at their important developments in science and their applications to everyday life. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.


Dog Sense

Dog Sense

Author: John Bradshaw

Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9780465023486

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"Dogs have been mankind's faithful companions for tens of thousands of years, yet today they are regularly treated as either pack-following wolves or furry humans. The truth is, dogs are neither--and our misunderstanding has put them in serious crisis. What dogs really need is a spokesperson, someone who will assert their specific needs. Renowned anthrozoologist Dr. John Bradshaw has made a career of studying human-animal interactions, and in Dog Sense he uses the latest scientific research to show how humans can live in harmony with--not just dominion over-- their four-legged friends. From explaining why positive reinforcement is a more effective (and less damaging) way to control dogs' behavior than punishment to demonstrating the importance of weighing a dog's unique personality against stereotypes about its breed, Bradshaw offers extraordinary insight into the question of how we really ought to treat our dogs"--


Bio A.I. - From Embodied Cognition to Enactive Robotics

Bio A.I. - From Embodied Cognition to Enactive Robotics

Author: Adam Safron

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2023-12-08

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 2832536166

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Even before the deep learning revolution, the landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) was already changing drastically in the 90s. Embodied intelligence, it was proposed, must play a crucial role in the design of intelligent machines. This new wave was inspired by what is today known as Embodied and Enactive Cognitive Science or E-Cognition, which considers that cognitive activity does not reduce to the intellectual capacities of agents being able to represent their environments. E-cognition set AI and robotics in a new direction, in which intelligent machines are required to interact with the environment, and where this interaction does not reduce to explicit representations or prespecified algorithms. These ideas revolutionized the way we think about intelligent machines and cognition, but these theoretical advances are only partially reflected in modern approaches to AI and machine learning (ML). Despite deeply impressive achievements, AI/ML still struggles to recapitulate the kinds of intelligence we find in natural systems, whether we are considering individual insects (e.g. simultaneous localization and mapping), or swarm behaviour (e.g. forum sensing and ensemble inferences), and especially the kinds of flexibility and high-level reasoning characteristic of human cognition.


ECAI 2016

ECAI 2016

Author: G.A. Kaminka

Publisher: IOS Press

Published: 2016-08-24

Total Pages: 1860

ISBN-13: 1614996725

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Artificial Intelligence continues to be one of the most exciting and fast-developing fields of computer science. This book presents the 177 long papers and 123 short papers accepted for ECAI 2016, the latest edition of the biennial European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Europe’s premier venue for presenting scientific results in AI. The conference was held in The Hague, the Netherlands, from August 29 to September 2, 2016. ECAI 2016 also incorporated the conference on Prestigious Applications of Intelligent Systems (PAIS) 2016, and the Starting AI Researcher Symposium (STAIRS). The papers from PAIS are included in this volume; the papers from STAIRS are published in a separate volume in the Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications (FAIA) series. Organized by the European Association for Artificial Intelligence (EurAI) and the Benelux Association for Artificial Intelligence (BNVKI), the ECAI conference provides an opportunity for researchers to present and hear about the very best research in contemporary AI. This proceedings will be of interest to all those seeking an overview of the very latest innovations and developments in this field.


Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition

Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition

Author: Ádám Miklósi

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 019964666X

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This is the first book to collate and synthesize the recent burgeoning primary research literature on dog behaviour, evolution, and cognition. The author presents a new ecological approach to the understanding of dog behaviour, demonstrating how dogs can be the subject of rigorous and productive scientific study without the need to confine them to a laboratory environment. This second, fully updated edition of Dog Behaviour, Evolution and Cognition starts with an overview of the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the study of the dog, followed by a brief description of their role in human society. An evolutionary perspective is then introduced with a summary of current research into the process of domestication. The central part of the book is devoted to issues relating to the cognitive aspects of behaviour which have received particular attention in recent years from both psychologists and ethologists. The book's final chapters introduce the reader to many novel approaches to dog behaviour, set in the context of behavioural development and genetics. This second edition recognises and discusses the fact that dogs are increasingly being used as model organisms for studying aspects of human biology, such as genetic diseases and ageing. Specific attention is also given in this edition to attachment behaviour which emerges between humans and dogs, the importance of inter-specific communication in the success of dogs in human communities and the broad aspects of social cognition and how this may contribute to human-dog cooperation Directions for future research are highlighted throughout the text which also incorporates links to human and primate research by drawing on homologies and analogies in both evolution and behaviour. The book will therefore be of relevance and use to anyone with an interest in behavioural ecology including graduate students of animal behaviour and cognition, as well as a more general audience of dog enthusiasts, biologists, psychologists, veterinarians, and sociologists.