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Bleeding Edge

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Sep 15th 2003 12:11am





Female Robots Are Coming

from the robotic-discrimination? dept

Roland Piquepaille writes "According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Hill, of the Australian robotic company Kadence Photonics, has reprogrammed robots to give them some "feminine" intuition. As wrote the author, "a robot that thinks like your mum may be running your kitchen and home sooner than you think." Peter Hill's new method of programming robots [is] based on co-operation rather than exploitation. These reprogrammed robots, Michelle, Romy and Goldie, "are able to switch between a number of jobs according to priority and circumstance." "If a man does the housework, he'll load the washing machine then stand there and watch it," Dr Hill said. "A woman will go off and do something else." Check my blog for excerpts from the article." Anyone else think this is a bit sexist? Why is it that it should be "female" robots running your kitchen and home? Next thing you know, we're going to find out that female robots make less money than comparable "male" robots...

6 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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  1.  

    No Subject Given

    identicon
    Matt, Sep 15th, 2003 @ 6:08am

    I love the way these people always denigrate men with impunity, but say a bad thing about women and you'd better be wearing an asbestos suit. I would say more but I just started the vacuum cleaner and I need to watch the dust spinning in the vortex now.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    Non Issue

    identicon
    AMetamorphosis, Sep 15th, 2003 @ 6:50am

    This is a non-issue because robots do not have sexes. Only Man can program into a robot a sexist behavior.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  

    Choice == free will

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 15th, 2003 @ 8:05am

    (rand()>.5?spit()|swallow())

    ...oh my god, it's alive!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    Re: No Subject Given

    icon
    Mike (profile), Sep 15th, 2003 @ 8:58am

    I love the way these people always denigrate men with impunity, but say a bad thing about women and you'd better be wearing an asbestos suit. I would say more but I just started the vacuum cleaner and I need to watch the dust spinning in the vortex now.

    Er... not really the point. It wasn't that anything "bad" was said about women. It was just that the assumption was that it was more "female" to clean the house and take care of the kitchen. Making that assumption (not value statement) seems sexist.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    No Subject Given

    identicon
    Andy, Sep 17th, 2003 @ 12:56pm

    There's this bizzare statement:
    "If a man does the housework, he'll load the washing machine then stand there and watch it,"

    Have any of you ever done this? Do you know anyone whose done this? It's like saying that "Men will paint something, and then stand there and watch it dry".

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    mojo, Mar 15th, 2006 @ 10:36am

    Actually, I have never done laundry but if I did I probably would stand there staring at it, stunned and uncomprehending. It's kind of a mystery to me, the whole process... whites, darks, detergent, etc.

    I have painted however and no, I don't stand to watch the paint dry. I think generally-speaking that men make better painters and women probably do a better job with laundry.

    My 2.5 cents' worth...

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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