Automation is no longer just a problem for those working in manufacturing. Physical labor was replaced by robots; mental labor is going to be replaced by AI and software.
Andrew Yang
Robot Memory VS Human Memory
Memory is one of the most important aspects of human cognition. Memories help us navigate the world, articulate our lives, and keep our conversations interesting. Without it, we would be lost.
This article will explore what memory is and how it differs from a robot’s memory. It will also look at how robots process emotions in comparison to humans. In order to understand these differences, let’s take a step back and have a look at what memory is in the first place.
What is memory?
Memory is a fundamental part of how the human brain works. It impacts our day-to-day work and interactions, as well as certain life choices we make.
The way it works is by collecting information from our senses and storing it for later use. It helps us remember past events, so we can learn from them and create new memories. We need memory to navigate the world around us, to be able to articulate what we’ve been through, and to have interesting conversations with others.
To understand memory’s role in cognition better, let’s take a look at the two systems —human and robot—and their memories:
A human has long-term and short-term memories. Long-term memory includes autobiographical memories (recalling details about yourself), semantic knowledge (generalized knowledge about the world), and episodic memories (recalling specific recent events). Short-term memory is simple information that we need for immediate use such as remembering directions or phone numbers or how to do something like tie your shoes.
A robot, on the other hand, would only need short-term memory because their memory lasts forever and their capacity for memory is only limited by their hardware and software. So they have the potential to never forget anything they do or see.
When humans form a strong emotional connection there is a deep-rooted psychological connection with many neural pathways being engaged. This is much more difficult state to attain for robots at the current level of Robotics technology.
How Robots Memory Differs from Humans
There are a number of ways robots store information. One is through a form of “memory”, which can be thought of as a very basic storage system. Robots store data in the form of electrical pulses on non-volatile silicon modules called “memristors” or very short-term volatile memory via random access memory modules. It is not difficult to see how this type of memory differs from human memory.
A robot’s memory is programmed and everything it knows is stored in its memory systems. If these systems were damaged, then the robot would be unable to move and do anything until they were repaired, restored or replaced, or there was a robust parallel fail-over/backup system designed to allow continuity.
Unlike a robot, human memories are constantly being updated and processed, and shaped by our ever-changing environment. We construct memories based on our experiences and what we saw at any given point in time. Memories never stay the same because we process them every time they come up again.
This means that when you remember an event from your past, such as your first date with your partner, it will be different than the way you remembered it when you first encountered it in your mind years ago. Just like humans, robots can also experience these changes in their memories too; however they do not have the ability to go back and change them like humans do, unless they are specifically designed to do so.
Do Robots Generate Emotions?
Robots are not capable of generating emotions such as fear and anger unless they are designed to “mimic” those human emotions. Robots don’t get scared or frustrated by a task they find difficult. For example, if a robot is tasked with sorting buttons from coins and it starts to get confused, its face (if it has one) might show frustration only if it were configured to do so,,, otherwise it would just shut down, or reset and try again, depending on it’s operating system and instructions.
This ability is made possible by sensors that detect the robot’s environment, detailed scenarios in the operating system that attempt to demonstrate an appropriate emotional response. A more progressive/future robot’s robo-motions may help it learn and develop new skills that will be useful in the future when interacting with humans. Instead of a green/amber or red light to describe the operating state,,, a smile/smirk or scowl would be the replacement for a more anthropomorphic robot.
However, robots do not generate the same type of emotions humans do. Most Robots lack some of the physiological components necessary for this type of emotional expression—such as facial muscles, but this is changing fast as the technology advances [story here of growing muscles/tendons on robot frames]. This means robots don’t express things like joy, sadness, or exhaustion the same way humans do because their facial expressions traditionally don’t change based on these emotions unless they are the more advanced kind of Android robot with facial actuators and artificial tendons and skin.
We also know that human memories work differently than a computer’s memory. Humans have long-term and short-term memories whereas computers only have short-term expansive and an inter-connected database of memories (similar to artificial intelligence).
Conclusion
Robots may not have a memory like a human, but they do have a memory. Memory is the ability to store and retrieve information from the past. It is the process of recalling stored information from the brain and other neurons throughout the body. Memories can be stored in many different ways, and can include objects, sounds, or other sensory experiences.