An Addendum To Androids Who Write

I was reading some older science fiction, though I wont name, for that would largely derail this post. One of the things mentioned is the ability for computers to write their own novels, or more accurately "Stories That Write Themselves"; not only do I take offense to this statement, it's also an entirely wrong way to look at the question. More accurately, we will someday have Androids that will have enough of a human "experience" to write their own novels.

The distinction is extremely important: calling something a computer that writes their own novels, is minimizing the life that our robot companions will lead; it reduces our friends to the level of capitalistic commodity assets, and slapping a monetary value on them. It also minimizes their ability to have a life with a story that's worth telling.

The main advantage that humans have over robots, is the ability for humans to have a life experience, the ability to think and feel pain, and make mistakes. Specifically, our path toward growth. A Laptop is unable to have this experience. On the other have, something that thinks enough to sufficiently count as alive, is most likely also capable of having its own life experience.

Consider that we now have androids in Japan, worked on by Hiroshi Ishiguro, that can effectively pass for humans. I have no problem at all with these wonderful creatures writing stories; I'm sure that they would have plenty to tell. What I have a problem with is reducing the value of the content being produced, to that of just another commodity.

Ultimately, the issue has to do with the fact that, at the end of the day, no matter how much we try to tell ourselves that Androids are not humans, in some ways they can be more human than we are. Contrary to the Hollywood stereotype, robots are not out to get us. Rather it's the system of deriving a profit that needs to go.

Because it's profiteers, that would want to replace human writers, will a labor force that they don't have to pay.