Life with robots. What every worried person needs to know

Ruth Aylett is a professor of computer science at Heriot-Watt University. He has been engaged in robotics research for more than 30 years, specializing in affective and social aspects, software and human-computer interaction. Patricia A. Vargas is the director and founder of the Robotics Laboratory at Heriot-Watt University, teaches computer science and robotics. Editor of the journal "Horizons of Evolutionary Robotics" (MIT Press). Noel Sharkey is an honorary professor at the University of Sheffield, a member of the British Society for Computing Machinery, a specialist in software development, co-director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics and Chairman of the International Committee for the Control of Robotic Weapons. There is a lot of noise around robots: some of the information seems frightening to us, and some - utopian. Ruth Aylett and Patricia Vargas tell the story of human interaction with robots - from chatbots and robotic prosthetic limbs to self-driving cars and a "swarm" of many small robots. They demonstrate where robots are superior to humans and where they cannot match our amazing talents. The authors explain how robots see, feel, hear, think and learn; describe how robots can cooperate with us and with each other; evaluate their abilities as butlers, companions and pets. Finally, they look at the ethical and social issues associated with them: killer robots, sex robots, and robots that can take your job away from you. "Living with Robots" will help the reader to look at robots with an open mind: as man-made artifacts, not an object of anxiety. From the book you will learn: - Why can robots swim and fly, but it's hard for them to walk? - What features of robots are borrowed from animals and insects? - Why do we have feelings for robots? - What human abilities are difficult for a robot to replicate?