- from the May 15 2006 Cambridge Evening News
Kathleen lets the robots take over
"MAN is a robot with defects," wrote Emile Cioran, in The Trouble with Being Born.
By their very nature, robots have always raised questions about what it means to be human.
The word robot was coined by Czech writer Karel Capek in his play R.U.R.
(Rossum's Universal Robots), first performed in 1921.
Now, 85 years on, a Cambridge PhD student is reviving the play, alongside a series of robot-themed events.
"I think the question of what makes us human is as relevant today (Monday, 15 May) as it was in 1921, and I think in some ways, we are still as uncertain," says Kathleen Richardson, from Cambridge University's department of social anthropology.
"The robot is a fascinating vehicle to explore this question, as robots are like us, but not quite," she says.
Kathleen conducted her fieldwork in the Humanoid Robotics Lab at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.
She said: "The researchers designed robots that resembled or behaved in human-like ways. It was interesting to discover that many of these researchers thought that human beings were just machines, except more sophisticated ones. I was interested in how they designed and thought about their robots."
The play R.U.Rwill be performed by Cambridge students and tells the story of a society which mass-produces robots to work in place of people - but when the formula to make them is changed, the robots that can feel become conscious and rebel against their masters.
Kathleen said: "When I embarked on my research project over five years ago, I realised the robot, as it was first invented and imagined was extremely different from our notions today (Monday, 15 May).
"I thought it would be interesting to go back to the original source of the robot. And in going back to the original source a lot of featuresbecame apparent, such as it was other artists in the 1920s and 1930s that gave the robot its metallic form and mechanical association."
In contrast, Capek's robots were human-like in appearance, made from flesh and blood.
Today (Monday, 15 May), Kathleen says the robot is more likely to be associated with Artificial Intelligence and science fiction movies than political rebellions and human freedom.
Robots through the ages will be examined through a series of films, talks with invited speakers, and an exhibition of photographs of robots from the USA, UK and Japan. All the events take place at Michaelhouse on Trinity Street.
S peakers include Anglia Ruskin University's Dr Katy Price, Cambridge University's Dr Alan Blackwell, and other academics from universities around the country. Films to be shown date from the 1920s to 1999: Frankenstein (1931), Metropolis (1927), Golem (1920), Modern Times (1936), Demon Seed (1977), 2001: A Space Odyssey(1968), The Terminator (1984), and The Matrix(1999).
Kathleen said: "I hope the Cambridge Robot Project will appeal to lots of different types of people, who can come and enjoy the films, the play, the exhibition, the short talks and the discussions with invited speakers.
"I am hoping an event like this might kick-start some reflection on the subject. And what makes us human is an important question for all of us to explore," she said.
■ The robot exhibition runs from May 15-28 and is free. Film showings, preceded by a discussion or short talk at 6.30pm, take place between May 15 and 18 at 7pm and 9pm. Tickets cost ¬£3.50/¬£4.50. R.U.R will be performed from May 23-26 at 8pm, preceded by a talk at 6.30pm.
Entry to both costs £5.50/£7. Until May 15, a special concessionary ticket for access to all the events is available for £15/£20.
For a programme, go to http://people.csail.mit.edu/kathleen/robotproject.htm or contact Kathleen by emailing kr242@cam.ac.uk
Kathleen lets the robots take over
"MAN is a robot with defects," wrote Emile Cioran, in The Trouble with Being Born.
By their very nature, robots have always raised questions about what it means to be human.
The word robot was coined by Czech writer Karel Capek in his play R.U.R.
(Rossum's Universal Robots), first performed in 1921.
Now, 85 years on, a Cambridge PhD student is reviving the play, alongside a series of robot-themed events.
"I think the question of what makes us human is as relevant today (Monday, 15 May) as it was in 1921, and I think in some ways, we are still as uncertain," says Kathleen Richardson, from Cambridge University's department of social anthropology.
"The robot is a fascinating vehicle to explore this question, as robots are like us, but not quite," she says.
Kathleen conducted her fieldwork in the Humanoid Robotics Lab at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.
She said: "The researchers designed robots that resembled or behaved in human-like ways. It was interesting to discover that many of these researchers thought that human beings were just machines, except more sophisticated ones. I was interested in how they designed and thought about their robots."
The play R.U.Rwill be performed by Cambridge students and tells the story of a society which mass-produces robots to work in place of people - but when the formula to make them is changed, the robots that can feel become conscious and rebel against their masters.
Kathleen said: "When I embarked on my research project over five years ago, I realised the robot, as it was first invented and imagined was extremely different from our notions today (Monday, 15 May).
"I thought it would be interesting to go back to the original source of the robot. And in going back to the original source a lot of featuresbecame apparent, such as it was other artists in the 1920s and 1930s that gave the robot its metallic form and mechanical association."
In contrast, Capek's robots were human-like in appearance, made from flesh and blood.
Today (Monday, 15 May), Kathleen says the robot is more likely to be associated with Artificial Intelligence and science fiction movies than political rebellions and human freedom.
Robots through the ages will be examined through a series of films, talks with invited speakers, and an exhibition of photographs of robots from the USA, UK and Japan. All the events take place at Michaelhouse on Trinity Street.
S peakers include Anglia Ruskin University's Dr Katy Price, Cambridge University's Dr Alan Blackwell, and other academics from universities around the country. Films to be shown date from the 1920s to 1999: Frankenstein (1931), Metropolis (1927), Golem (1920), Modern Times (1936), Demon Seed (1977), 2001: A Space Odyssey(1968), The Terminator (1984), and The Matrix(1999).
Kathleen said: "I hope the Cambridge Robot Project will appeal to lots of different types of people, who can come and enjoy the films, the play, the exhibition, the short talks and the discussions with invited speakers.
"I am hoping an event like this might kick-start some reflection on the subject. And what makes us human is an important question for all of us to explore," she said.
■ The robot exhibition runs from May 15-28 and is free. Film showings, preceded by a discussion or short talk at 6.30pm, take place between May 15 and 18 at 7pm and 9pm. Tickets cost ¬£3.50/¬£4.50. R.U.R will be performed from May 23-26 at 8pm, preceded by a talk at 6.30pm.
Entry to both costs £5.50/£7. Until May 15, a special concessionary ticket for access to all the events is available for £15/£20.
For a programme, go to http://people.csail.mit.edu/kathleen/robotproject.htm or contact Kathleen by emailing kr242@cam.ac.uk
