Scientists have created a robot with a biologically-based (rat neurons) brain?

Question

What does this bode for the future of robot technology?

How will this eventually apply to the definition of "personhood"?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080814/sc_livescience/robothasbiologicalbrain

Answer 1

My personal view as a biologist about the robots...................

I am a little afraid of all robots that humankind made at various time for various purposes.

I think there are a plenty of advantages and disadvantages of such (ANY) robots.

I find such robots so useful which are intelligent and able to perform some specific task imposed ONLY by HUMAN BUT totally controled by humans. (ONLY FOR THE GOOD of the HUMAN KIND.)

For example, there are robots for finding victims and injured people under a debris. This is just an example and so  I think advantageous.

Another robots were made to detect bombs, mines and explosives and also for the purpose of de-activating them.

Yes, all these sorts of man made robots are advantageous and helpful for humankind.

But I again think a robot of any kind should be entirely controled by man and can't be "more active" than a specific task and intelligent than human, If so we are always safe and if it is out of human control then there is always a fear. They might turn out sometimes destructive too.

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AS FAR as GORDON, the robot you have mentioned is concerned, it has been made to carry out specific tasks. I have read about it in newspapers.

Bio-scientist are tryig to find out the reasons and remedies for some brain diseases, such as brain stroke, Alz. disease, or Parkinson disease and so on.

What I think about the term you used  as this is a"personhood" in terms of this robot is absolutely not a case at all and I can't agree with this opinion.

As you know this robot has been made for a specific purpose and as far Gordon robot is concerned, scientist are working on its brain functions, specificly on how memory works in human so to find a way or treatment for such diseases I mentioned before.

So, no question of personification or          " personhood" at all.

However, there are some flaws that is the brain cells are taken from rat. Other is it would be spontaneous ( though an advantage) but neither controled by scientists nor computers. ( Read it in the article)

What to mention more, another step towords HUMAN ADVANCEMENT and an attemt to find A CURE for many many suffering people in the world.

Thanks to all scientists and humankind.