Charlie Stross wrote:
> On Wed, Dec 27, 2000 at 07:36:54PM -0500, Ross A. Finlayson wrote:
> >
> > If you have live pets, and sometimes they are alone, then maybe the robots
> > could play with the cats and dogs.
>
> Ross, do you actually have a cat or a dog?
>
> I have a cat, and playing with her is rather ... demanding. Like a
> small child, she makes up rules as she goes along. Sometimes it's simple
> chase-the-string stuff ... but she varies her hunting pattern considerably
> and gets bored if I just drag it in front of her. And sometimes she tries
> to play head-games with the people around her. For example, she's got a
> dominance game where every time a human gets out of their chair she'll
> leap into it and sprawl out, taking posession: as if to assert her own
> ability to occupy human territory.
>
> I wouldn't claim that she's as complex as a human being, but I suspect a
> robot behaviourally complex enough to keep her amused would need to be at
> least as smart as a dog or cat. (Unless it was mouse-sized, furry, and
> designed to scoot into dark corners and squeak.)
>
> -- Charlie
Hi Charlie,
I don't have any pets, but I have had pets in the past. For example, from time
to time I watch pets for other people, when they are out of town. So I can
spend some time with the pet. Depending on leash laws in your area and if you
fence your yard or keep your pets inside, then the pets interact while no one
else is there. So, if you had a robotic pet, then it could interact with them.
I don't have any children that is a much different matter. When it comes to
people, they can have their own pets.
I have had a turtle and dogs, cats, hamsters, fish, a rabbit, and some more
fish, in no order. I have watched outdoor animals. I have seen bears and
rattlesnakes in the wild.
For example, there is this cat Alex. Alex is a yellow tabby cat. He lives
outside. Sometimes he hunts birds or squirrels, but he is mostly past that. He
walks around the area. I thought about getting a dog but it takes a lot of
space.
So, about robots, a robot is a pretty familiar icon in culture. A robot can
exist for some of the same purposes that provide benefit for the same benefits
that the pets provide.
Ross
-- Ross Andrew Finlayson Finlayson Consulting Ross at Tiki-Lounge: http://www.tiki-lounge.com/~raf/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:50:43 MDT