Robots as Companions or Caregivers

Sherry Turkle in Alone Together explores different ways in which technology is affecting our social lives. The first half of the book covers issues related to robotics, such as how robots can take over the role of companions or caregivers. Turkle highlighted different issues related to robots and how their ability to take up positions of caregivers or companions is a threat to human relationships (Turkle 53). Therefore, this paper will create an outline of why robots should not take over the role of caregivers or companions.

One of the reasons why robots should not be allowed to take up the roles of companions or caregivers is that they will overwrite the basic concept of humanity, which is interaction with other human beings. In the first section of the book, Turkle argues that robots can take over our lives and alienate meaningful relationships with other people (Turkle 53). These robots are programmed to penetrate people's lives by serving different purposes, such as therapy and offering compassion. For instance, Turkle gave the example of advanced robots such as Paro, which can serve psychological functions such as intimacy. The ability of these robots to offer intimacy and emotional connection makes it difficult for people to form intimate relationships with other people (Turkle 89). Therefore, in the future, robots will alienate the need to talk and connect with other people. As a result, society stands to suffer a big loss because relationships are the backbone of its existence. For that reason, the idea of having robots as caregivers is a threat to human existence.

The other reason against robots as caregivers is that they are not able to give true opinions or real intimacy. Unlike human beings, robots are programmed to give positive feedback. The machines are designed to blow off steam by listening to people and not offering any form of resistance. This phenomenon leads to what Turkle referred to as the Eliza effect (Turkle 90). Eliza effect, in this case, is the tendency to project feelings to objects because they give a positive response (Turkle 91). In other words, robots are only a representation of some facets of humanity because they cannot serve purposes such as criticism or corrections. Therefore, the idea of having robots as companions or caregivers is a way of developing relationships that only dwell on amusement and comfort. As a result, we stand to lose honest opinions about our actions and decisions.

On the other hand, one can argue that robots should be allowed to take up the role of caregivers or companions. Robots are more reliable than human caregivers because they are not abusive and can be available at any time of the day. Ideally, caregiving or companionship is tiresome, time-consuming, and emotionally exhausting. Therefore, robots offer a practical alternative because they can provide companionship without any emotional or physical consequences (Turkle 54). For example, Turkle’s interview with a patient who was suffering from depression showed that robots were a better alternative to caregiving than humans (Turkle 93). The patient indicated that Paro, the robot, offered more companionship than her son. The patient revealed that they were always quarreling with her son. However, the rebuttal is weak because the more we give human qualities and features to robots, the more we expect less of human relationships. As a result, society will lose because human relationships are the foundation of its existence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Sherry Turkle, in Alone Together, outlines how robots can take over human relationships. Turkle argues that robots have been programmed to have human features such as emotional support and intimacy. These false interactions between people and robots are a threat to humanity because they intend to overwrite social interactions, which are the backbone of society. If the idea of having robots and caregivers is materialized in the future, then we will have managed to erode the capacity to appreciate human relationships.

Work Cited

Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Print.