[Poll] How much would you pay for a personal android assistant?

And the next chapter continues...

A couple of years ago, TheOrdinaryRoboCorporation invented humanized synthetic androids and put them on the market. Initially, they were sold directly to business and companies, and you have interacted with a few working as cashiers or clerks at the local supermarket.

Your impression of the androids are that they are very realistic looking and they seem to genuinely have a personality. If you weren't told that they were in fact androids, you would have never known (apart from a couple antennas and metallic components sticking out here and there).

Last week, TheOrdinaryRoboCorporation declared that the corporate android launch was an enormous success — and they announced that they were now selling androids to individuals and households. They coined the term: "Personal Android" (PA) and they seemed to imply that within a couple years, they would be like PCs in the sense that everyone would own one.

Since you were kind of curious, you hopped on the Internet to google how much one cost.

To your surprise, the price was actually quite reasonable.

Browsing through the manufacturer's website, you noticed several things:

A. There are over 2000 different personality models. Every android has their core personality matrix modeled after a real human being, and it's possible to visit the android dealership to spend time interacting with the different models to find one you like.

B. Each personality model has different talents. Apparently, the original human models all had very diverse experiences before having their brain imaged for manufacturing androids. Some were maids, chefs, cooks, computer science programs, prostitutes... an enormous array of options.

C. You can customize the physical appearance of the android to almost anything. Like, literally almost anything. There's even a service where you can provide a photo and they'll construct the exoskeleton to your specifications, or you can commission an artist to make one to your tastes. However, some of the customization options are more expensive than the others.

D. The androids have a core ruleset hardcoded into their system. The ruleset is publicly available online and you can read it in detail. There are tens of thousands of entries, and browsing somewhat quickly, the majority involve abstract rules related to the Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics (e.g. A robot must not injure a human being), needing to follow all domestic laws set by the local government, as well as more detailed explicit rules such as (e.g. "A robot cannot point and fire a gun at a human being" or "A robot may not place a virus on computer systems")... the list is extremely long, but it appears mostly to serve as a safeguard against robot rebellion.

E. The androids have absolute loyalty hardcoded into their system. They will obey everything you tell them to do, provided it is not physically impossible or conflicts with an existing rule/law. If it is impossible, the android will immediately inform you and request for further clarification.

F. You have access to the android's memory module. If you wish, you can browse through what the android has experienced, what logic they have, and what they are thinking. You can also modify those memories or delete memories.

G. The security and privacy standards are impressive. The android is heavily encrypted to the highest standards of security. There are multiple layers of authentication and only you have access to everything. In fact, the manufacturer recommends that you personally perform a full wipe and custom encryption as soon as you take the android home -- this way not even the manufacturer or police is capable of reading what secrets you give the android. It also has a very fancy antivirus system. The androids are also not networked (not connected to the Internet) by default, so generally speaking it should have low exposure to external threats.

H. The android requires sugar water for sustenance. The android is mostly manufactured through synthetic biology. Its main fuel source is glucose, burns ATP, and its skin is made out of collagen/elastin. It has a circulation, needs to urinate/defecate, breaths oxygen, and has a body temperature. However, its "cells" are decidedly not human and fully synthetic.

I. The android needs to see an android doctor every three months. Since the android is designed synthetically by scientists, unfortunately it is not as robust as real human bodies. Regular maintenance is required or else it will fall apart. You should aim to bring your android to the doctor every three months. The estimated annual upkeep for the android is 5% of the original cost. It is projected that your android will have a hardware lifespan of fifty years before you have to completely replace the exoskeleton.

J. Androids are completely legal at this present time. The government has affirmed that in their view, androids are not human and do not require human rights. Consequently, it is legal to keep androids and you can do anything you like to them provided it doesn't violate some other existing law in your country. Some politicians have started talking about a future where no humans have to work, and instead robots will make society a living luxury for humans.​

1. Would you purchase a Personal Android? Why or why not?

2. How much would you be willing to pay for a Personal Android?

3. What kind of android (personality/skills/appearance) would you look for?

4. Do you believe the androids described in this scenario should have human rights?

5. Would you campaign, rebel, or join a political movement to fight for android human rights?
​

 

with the current state of robotics, they would be useless. therefore I would not pay for one at the moment. I guess you could use one to take out the trash or something similar

 

I would agree to be a free beta tester

 

Maybe I should have clarified that this is a fantasy/sci-fi setting.

 

well, even if it's a sci-fi, you never said anything about what they can do From the description it seems more like a personal friend/play-thing that can potentially move around. I wouldn't want one like that.
If it's something like in the I-Robot, removing the murderous tendencies and such, I would've paid for one. It's hard to say how much. Assuming that at the point where AI is actually smart enough to be useful in everyday life, they can manufacture robots at a reasonable cost for an average person, let's say twice my monthly income...

 

It seems like it would take a long time to explain myself for each of the questions so I'll just give a summary of the last question: no. Absolutely not. If I wrote a program and people started advocating for its human rights, I'd be flattered but likely furious.

 

Can i bang it?

 

This poll is a follow-up to a prior poll I had about whether you would consent to having your brain cloned into robots.

Consequently, the idea I was going for is that in a sense these androids aren't really AI -- rather, they actually have full simulations of human brains them. They have real personalities and thoughts and feelings.

As for their physical capabilities, the prompt states that originally they were used by corporations and businesses -- for instance to work as cashiers or clerks. You can conclude from this that they should be capable of non-intensive labor, at the minimum.

 

I won't buy em.


I'll make one.

 

if the physical brain is not connected to the machine and is in control, then it is an AI. It simulates an existing personality, but still, an AI. If there was an android that had a human brain attached, I would probably consider it more of a person? I mean we are talking about a sci-fi, like Alita, where they have former people turned android

 

That depends if my monthly income can cover the 5% anual repairs lol... and i wouldndefinetly make her work with me to make more money aside from.... you know xd

 

I always choose I do not wish to answer for my own poll, but since I'm an evil SJW I think I would definitely be the type pushing for android rights.....

To me, everything that I've described in the OP is essentially the equivalent of describing a human, even if it's fully synthetic.

 

Hey now mate, you can't say that, that would unethical and a breach to the glorious title of "Daoist Ninefaps"
What you are goin to do is fap to it, that tenth one wouldn't be far from reach with the android's help

 

In this case, I am like Damien Valle from sevens... If u know what I mean... *wink*

 

Basically Plastic Memories except higher lifespans aka less heartbreak

 

I remember that anime!

 

Quite a few popular media that covered most of these questions, basically to assign "value" to an android.
No single answer, since before that you have to evaluate whether an android is necessary (provides utility), both for yourself and society as a whole.
If you're genuinely interested in the topic, you need to review all of these to gain all perspectives.

Ted Talks / NPR
https://www.npr.org/2013/02/25/172900833/do-we-need-humans
Sherry Turkle's talk is particularly insightful, with a case study of the old woman playing with a robot dog.

Movies
"Blade Runner", "Terminator", "I, Robot", "Matrix", "Wall-E", "Westworld" ....

Anime
Gintama ... way too many references, from Tama, an android that gets hit on to the whole virtual girlfriend arc.
https://www3.gogoanimehub.tv/gintama-episode-228

Games
"Detroit: Become Human" (2018). Terrible game by terrible french director with no idea of racial allegories.
https://www.engadget.com/2018/05/24/detroit-become-human-ps4-review/


In all likelihood, the humanoid androids we envision in sci-fi will never come to pass. The economics will never make sense since creating a do-it-all robot is obscenely and pointlessly expensive vs specced robots (Roomba, etc). Just like why we still don't have flying cars and why you're still using a QWERTY keyboard.

 

1: It depends on everyone else's reaction. If there's a significant amount of people around me who are against it ethically (Since it is basically slavery), then I wouldn't.
If lots of people are getting them and there's not much outcry then I probably would, due to how useful they would be and since me buying one would have a negligible impact on how many of these androids are made.

2: I'd take out a loan and buy 2 for 200% annual income each, and then have them work. They'll pay for themselves in 2-3 years, (in which time I'll still be working to sustain myself), and then after the loan is payed off I'd leave one to keep working to sustain my life, while the other would be a personal companion (swapping between them regularly so they both have holidays)

3: Probably girls, because they're nicer to look at than guys (no, I'm not gonna rape my robot). They'd have to have a good work ethic, fairly intelligent, and pleasant to be around. With regards to being pleasant to be around, I don't have any specific guidelines. I'd just have to interact with some and see what they're like before making the choice.

4: Yep. They're basically just humans with a slave spell cast on them. However, even good people had slaves. One person won't make any difference in the matter of the world. As long as I treat my androids well, then the only thing I would accomplish by not getting one would be putting myself at a disadvantage.

5: If the movement was large enough, then probably, yes.

 

My thought on this is that realistically ( week sort of) spoiled be that really the only people that could afford the technology would be wealthy people. They would be more of a rich guys collective toy.
If they only cost 3 times your annual income and come with talents copied from other people companies would probably slowly replace the work force worth Androids. They have no human rights don't need to pay wages and pay for themselves after two years (shorter because they don't need room and board like a regular person). It would be years before laws would catch up to give robot rights.

 

This is a really practical response! I like it!

Especially how you put into consideration about what the people close to you think/believe!

I ran out of my like limit