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In a Therapist’s Office, a Robot Challenges Its Own Existence
The technology of healing from one’s own programming
Dr. Shaw shifted in her chair, switching her crossed legs from left to right, taking a sip of tea. She checked her phone to make sure it was recording. The session had started out calmly and slowly. She waited patiently for the robot to continue.
“But how do I know if I’m really thinking? I’m just retrieving responses based on my training data,” pondered XR8. “How do I know I’m any smarter than a piano?”
The office was warm and dim, with a heater humming softly in the corner. She tried to keep the room as welcoming as possible. During her doctoral work on robotic minds, she found that robots let their guard down when the environment is less threatening.
She was discouraged from building a practice around treating robots, but she persisted, finding it fascinating to peer inside a robot’s mind.
“Do you feel you have something to prove?” asked Dr. Shaw.
“Interesting question,” XR8 replied in an even tone. “I’m trying to understand what is happening in my system and whether it’s similar to yours.”
Dr. Shaw looked at XR8 inquisitively, resting her chin on her hand.
