We hate robots. Ok, wait, back up. We at least think they are more evil than good. Try it yourself – “are robots” in Google nets you evil before good. Megatron has higher SEO than Optimus Prime, and it’s not just because he’s so much cooler. It cuz he evil, cuz. It do be like that.
It’s not even a compliment to call someone robotic; society connotes this to emotionless preprogrammed shells of hideous nothing, empty clankbags that walk and talk and not much else. So, me at a party. Or if you’re a nerd, you’re a robot. (Me at a party once again.)
Let’s start by assuming robots as human-like bipedal machines that are designed with some amount of artificial intelligence, generally designed to fulfill a job to free up humanity from drudgery. All sounds good so far. So why do they creep us out?
There’s a litany of reasons why, best summed up with the concept of the uncanny valley, first coined by roboticist Masahiro Mori (Wow he’s still alive! The robots have not yet won) in 1970. Essentially, we know what a human is and how it looks and behaves against the greater backdrop of life and physics. When this is translated to a synthetic being, we are ok with making a robot look and act like us to a point, where we then notice all the irregularities and differences.
Most of these are minor – unnaturally smooth or rigid movements, light not scattering properly on a surface, eyes that don’t sync up quite right when they blink, and several other tiny details. Lots of theories take over at this point about why this creeps us out. But a blanket way to think about it is that our expectation doesn’t match what we are seeing; the reality we’re presented with is off just enough and this makes us uncomfortable .
Ever stream a show and the audio is a half second off? Makes you really annoyed. Magnify that feeling by a thousand and you’re smack in the middle of the uncanny valley. It’s that unnerving. One possible term for this is abjection, which is what happens the moment before we begin to fear something. Our minds – sensing incompatibility with robots – know this is something else, something other , and faced with no way to categorize this, we crash.
This is why they make good villains in movies – something we don’t understand and given free will and autonomy, potentially imbued with the bias of a creator or capable of forming terrifying conclusions all on its own (humans are a virus). But they also make good heroes, especially if they are cute or funny. Who doesn’t love C3PO? That surprise that they are good delights us. Build in enough appeal to a robot, and we root for them and feel empathy when they are faced with hardships. Do robots dream of electric sheep? Do robots have binary souls? Bits and zeros and ones?
Professor Jaime Banks (Texas Tech University’s College of Media & Communication) spends a lot of time thinking about how we perceive robots. It’s a complex and multifaceted topic that covers anthropomorphism, artificial intelligence, robot roles within society, trust, inherently measuring virtue versus evil, preconceived notions from entertainment, and numerous topics that cover human-robot interactions.
The world is approaching a future where robots may become commonplace; there are already robot bears in Japan working in the healthcare field. Dressing them up with cute faces and smiles may help, but one jerky movement later and we’ve dropped all suspension.
At some point, we have to make peace with the idea that they will be all over the place. Skynet, GLaDOS in Portal, the trope of your evil twin being a robot that your significant will have to shoot in the middle of your fight, that episode of Futurama where everything was a robot and they rose up against their human masters with wargod washing machines and killer greeting cards, the other Futurama episode where they go to a planet full of human hating murderous robots… We’ve all got some good reasons to fear robots and their coded minds.
But as technology advances, it makes sense to have robots take over menial tasks, perform duties for the needy and sick, and otherwise benefit humanity at large. And so the question we face is how to build that relationship now to help us in the future.
There’s a fine line between making them too humanlike versus too mechanical. Pixar solved the issue of unnerving humanoids in their movies by designing them stylistically – we know they are human and accept that the figure would look odd in real life. We can do the same with robots – enough familiarity to develop an appeal, but not enough to erase the divide between humanity and robot. It may just be a question of time and new generations growing up with robots becoming fixtures of everyday life. I’m down for cyborgs too.
Fearing them might not even be bad, as Banks points out: “…a certain amount of fear can be a useful thing. Fear can make us think critically and carefully and be thoughtful about our interactions, and that would likely help us productively engage a world where robots are key players.”
Also, check out Robot Carnival if you get the chance – specifically the Presence episode of the anthology.
Ken Brand
May 21, 2009 at 6:55 am
I wish you speed, patience and endurance, you already have brains and moxie. Go Get’em.
Brad Nix
May 21, 2009 at 7:32 am
It is a commitment of time (oh the hours and hours), energy and money (not all expenses will be reimbursed and the lost business due to your time investment is worth noting). However, you will find good people trying to do what they think is right.
Unfortunately, you will be classified as the ‘young techie’ and in their eyes that means you know how to use the internet well, mastered the pda, and generally have nothing else of value to add beyond answering tech support questions. Please fight thru this stereoype and prove your value by being forceful with your ideas for improvement. Let me know if I can help in any way.
Vance Shutes
May 21, 2009 at 8:59 am
Matt,
Having served in both committee and leadership positions at both my local and State Boards of Realtors, I salute your commitment to giving back to your profession! Thank you, and may your example serve as encouragement for many others to get involved in their local Boards. As your business grows, and the demands on your time grows accordingly, the service you provide at the local and State Boards will help you become more laser-focused on each transaction, client, and Board activity. Go Matt, Go!
Benn Rosales
May 21, 2009 at 9:23 am
Question everything, and always put the needs of the membership above your own, and the day you can no longer be who you are is the day to step down.
I’ve always known you were a cut above, you have my support, although I’m a lousy alarm clock.
Louise Scoggins
May 21, 2009 at 10:07 am
Wow, Matt, I am impressed! I envy your committment to become involved. As a busy Realtor / mom / wife, I am always hesitant to get involved with committees b/c I am afraid it will detract from my business or family. I wish you the best of luck and will be following along with your progress! Kudos to you!!
Lani at Agent Genius
May 21, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Matt, I’m a great alarm clock and we support you!!! 🙂
Mark Brian
May 21, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Great news you are taking a step to get involved. I have been hesitating to do so myself because I never seem to have enough time to get eveything done. But maybe I need to finally break down and try to make a difference by getting involved.
Matt Stigliano
May 21, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Ken – You’re showing your age using words like “moxie.” Haha. Good thing my mom used to use that word or I’d be running to a dictionary right now. Thank you Ken, thank you.
Brad – All things I’ve considered. My answer to the time/money issue is simple. If I don’t try to change and work within our various associations, my money and time won’t matter if I let them take it all away. You can help – keep doing what you’re doing. (I don’t want to admit this in public, but you’re one of my real estate idols.)
Vance – That’s an interesting take on the time commitment. By using more time, you learn to focus more. It’s true, but I hadn’t thought of it that way.
Benn – You said:
I have never backed down from a question, even if it sounds naive or stupid. Part of this is about the needs of the membership (myself included). And as for stepping down – I left a great, fun, and lucrative job for that sort of reason. I loved being a rockstar, but I wasn’t where I wanted to be anymore. I felt as if I wasn’t serving the needs of my fellow band mates or the fans. For lack of a better phrase – I was half-assing it. I left.
Louise – I don’t have enough time as it is, but the fact is, I can no longer use time as an excuse to watch everything from the sidelines. If I can’t be a part of it all, then I can’t complain near as much as I do.
Lani – Thanks. You know, I still think the “Million Realtor Plus Lani March On TAR” is a great idea.
Mark – I think you should. I’m scared to death of the time commitment, the unknown, the new…but if I don’t try, then I’m just another warm body doing my job. I want to see real estate move forward and although I’m a realist and don’t think I’m going to walk in there and change the world – if I can change one tiny little thing, I feel I’ve done what I came to do.
I actually hated this post. I was frazzled yesterday. I mean what I said in it, I just wish it had been better written. In fact, most would call me insane for attempting this and I missed one amazing bit of word play – “Committme”/”Commit Me” (insane, get it?). From here on out, I will have Ken Brand ghost write all my word play.
Craig Barrett
May 21, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Get it! Keep the faith and focus past the inevitable distractions. I got your back 🙂
Vicki Lloyd
May 21, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Good for you Matt!
My motto has always been to get involved or shut up and suffer the consequences.
I’m on my local MLS committee, and the Pro-Standards committee at my Board of Realtors. Participating in the meetings and discussions is valuable education, and there’s even a chance of making a difference!
Some of the old timers (who think “We’ve always done it this way”) can be educated and influenced when they get to know and respect you.
Just be gentle, or you will scare them away!
Good luck!
Brad Nix
May 21, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Matt, you’re gonna rock your local and state associations – just be yourself!
I just can’t get past the fact that two of your supporters belong to the same local association here in Cherokee County, GA. Louise Scoggins, way to show up and support Matty Rockstar! Now if I could just get you to help me make some changes in our local association;) Start by sending me your ideas for improvement, you know how to contact me – or just say when and I’ll be the beers so we can talk in person.
Matt Stigliano
May 21, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Vicki – That’s a good motto. We lived life the same way in the band. Stop your whining and start your working. We all broke the theory from time to time and complained or moaned, but it only made us work harder. Try touring England for two weeks (it doesn’t take much to tour through there) knowing full well that you haven’t sold a record. Guess what? Those tours of crappy clubs in the worst places made us into someone in the UK. Sometimes you have to suffer a bit to be where you need to be, but crying about it won’t get you anywhere. I’ll try to be gentle, but I will share my thoughts and work to learn more and explain what I already know.
Brad – I learned from you early on to be myself. You were the first one to really drive that home to me with those early email conversations. Louise could be a great ally for you…you just need to convince her you won’t take all of her time.
Louise – If anyone would be awesome to work with in the local associations, it would be Brad. Plus he’s offering to “be the beer” (I think a tried that once after reading a Zen book and having a couple of beers – I don’t remember the results).
Carolyn Gjerde-Tu
May 21, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I’m also involved on the local level- on my association’s board of directors – I’ll likely be pres-elect next year and recently became involved in my regions MLS committee. These issues do make me feel I need to get involved even more either at the state or national level – sometimes a fresh viewpoint is welcomed, especially if it is well reasoned and not argumentative. You can definitely make a difference locally – so I hope you get whatever committee assignments that you want. Actually, I did volunteer for my MLS committee a couple of years ago and was asked to be on the website committee instead – I paid my dues there (that’s how I was asked to be a director and then back again to MLS committe). So if you don’t get on the exact committees you would like right away, get involved with something – you will get there eventually.
Matt Stigliano
May 21, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Carolyn – Great advice and encouragement…thanks! I just sent an email to our last chairman of our local board to see if he could offer me any advice. I’ve been in contact with a few “big names” in our association (I figure they’ll at least know my name by the time I get there!) and just that experience is becoming fun and firing me up just a little more each time I get an email. I see your point about being open to other committees and I am, there’s a few I can’t imagine I would perform well on (right now), but I have a couple in mind so far.
Paula Henry
May 21, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Matt – I commend your dedication to enacting change and yes, it will be slow progress. Every little bit helps though. Every voice counts.
I got your Commit Me, and insane, it may be. I sat with a few board members today and have to say, it’s painful to watch and try to educate those opposed to growth and progression in the industry. I don’t think my board is ready for me 🙂
With people like you and many others here, who knows, one day we may take back R.com. A few baby steps at a time.
Bill Lublin
May 22, 2009 at 12:32 am
Matt: A great big Man Hug AND a chest bump on top of that- Your taking steps to participate in the governance of the REALTOR movement is what is needed for NAR to move towards the future.
When I first got involved in my local association, my broker (who was a former board president) said to me, “If you leave the association in a little better shape than when you found it, you’ve done a good job” I’ve tried to keep that advice in my mind since then, and its always served me well. Hope it does the same for you.
Looks like you still rock dude!
South City Lights
May 22, 2009 at 6:01 am
Join the Committme. | Real Estate Blog Magazine – Real Estate … https://tinyurl.com/pvs77m
Louise Scoggins
May 22, 2009 at 9:21 am
Hey Matt, Yep I know I can learn soooo much from Brad, he is a local Real Estate icon (at least in my eyes). I am amazed at all he does and am glad you have found encouragement from his words. I again state I am envious of your “just do it” attitude. It’s definitely something I can learn from. I think it’s great that your passion for your industry and the change to come has caused you to step up to the plate…it has definitely made me think about some things.
Matt Stigliano
May 22, 2009 at 10:40 am
Craig – How did I miss you in my replies? D’oh! Thanks for the back up. I think I’ll have a lot of good back up when I get stuck, frustrated, or feel a bit lost.
Paula – As I’ve said, your post really got this rolling in me. Why sit back and wait for changes like that to come about when I can “head them off at the pass.” I owe you (and a lot of AgentGenius people in general) for helping craft me into who I am. I took my own self and applied the principles I started to learn here and now I feel I’m growing in many ways. I don’t think your board is ready for you…I think you’ve proved that.
Bill – Just got an email this morning from our past-chairman with some great advice and encouragement. He’s the kind of guy I thought wouldn’t take a minute for a young guy like me…he’s too important, I thought. I had the same thoughts about you when I first read your posts. Not because of the way you acted, but just a simple pre-conceived notion because you were a “big-wig.” You proved me wrong long ago and with that thought in mind, I took a shot and sent him an email. I got the response. I’m learning to not pre-judge other agents and people in roles of “authority” in real estate. One more step for me. I love the quote and will do my best to live by it.
Louise – As my The Stigliano Chronicles is geared towards newer agents, I thought it was important to have this conversation about my “Committme Campaign” here. Perhaps I could inspire one or two of them to join in too. I definitely believe that if more of those of us join in and participate in the associations and boards, we can move real estate to new levels.
Austin Smith - Goomzee.com
May 22, 2009 at 11:34 am
Do it to it, Matt! I applaud you for coming to this conclusion in light of last week’s controversy. How do you fix what’s broken? Become proactive, that’s how! Good luck with your goal, Matt…hopefully you’re duties won’t cut into you’re blogging time.
Todd Tarson
May 22, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Matt, I applaud your attitude and believe it is the right one to have if you indeed are passionate about this industry and more importantly, your clients.
I decided to get involved with my local Association soon after becoming a Realtor Member. It hasn’t been all daisy’s and roses (but I’m not a flower kinda dude anyway). It took time and sacrifice but I’ve been blessed with more knowledge that has directly helped me become a better practitioner… and my clients thank me for it.
The change you want will only come when you put your effort into it. Do not wait around for anyone else to change, you be the agent of change. It is needed now more than ever and the changes need to process through in a timely fashion. Our industry requires these changes.
Bottom line… do it. I wish you good fortune and much success.