What will I learn about: why future robots are more likely to function as helpful animal companions and pets rather than fully autonomous human replacements?

Understand why future robots are more likely to function as helpful animal companions and pets rather than fully autonomous human replacements.

What will I learn about: why the fear of artificial intelligence stealing human jobs is overblown, as AI currently lacks the complex, contextual decision-making of the human mind?

Discover why the fear of artificial intelligence stealing human jobs is overblown, as AI currently lacks the complex, contextual decision-making of the human mind.

What will I learn about: Learn how our long history of training animals for singular tasks, like ferrets running cables or rats detecting landmines, provides a practical blueprint for utilizing modern AI?

Learn how our long history of training animals for singular tasks, like ferrets running cables or rats detecting landmines, provides a practical blueprint for utilizing modern AI.

What will I learn about: why designing human-like, bipedal robots is inefficient, and how avoiding 'fauxtomation' can lead to more practical, highly useful workplace technologies?

Find out why designing human-like, bipedal robots is inefficient, and how avoiding 'fauxtomation' can lead to more practical, highly useful workplace technologies.

What will I learn about: Explore how historical laws regarding animal behavior, such as putting livestock on trial in the Middle Ages, can inspire better legal frameworks for robot accountability?

Explore how historical laws regarding animal behavior, such as putting livestock on trial in the Middle Ages, can inspire better legal frameworks for robot accountability.

The New Breed

What Our History with Animals Reveals about Our Future with Robots

Kate Darling

★ 4.1 / 5(43 ratings)

Start ListeningDownload QR code that opens AudiobookHub on the App Store

Try free on iPhoneScan to start in 5 seconds

Categories:

Technology & the Future Nature & the Environment

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Did you know that the most accurate way to understand our future with robots isn't by comparing them to humans, but to the animals we’ve worked alongside for centuries?
💡Have you ever wondered why our ancient relationship with dogs, horses, and oxen might be the secret to solving the modern ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence?
💡What if the key to overcoming your fear of a robot takeover is simply changing the way you categorize the machines in your life?

Listen to The New Breed — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from The New Breed

✓Understand why future robots are more likely to function as helpful animal companions and pets rather than fully autonomous human replacements.
✓Discover why the fear of artificial intelligence stealing human jobs is overblown, as AI currently lacks the complex, contextual decision-making of the human mind.
✓Learn how our long history of training animals for singular tasks, like ferrets running cables or rats detecting landmines, provides a practical blueprint for utilizing modern AI.
✓Find out why designing human-like, bipedal robots is inefficient, and how avoiding 'fauxtomation' can lead to more practical, highly useful workplace technologies.
✓Explore how historical laws regarding animal behavior, such as putting livestock on trial in the Middle Ages, can inspire better legal frameworks for robot accountability.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from The New Breed

Mind Map

The New Breed

Paradigm Shift: Robots as Animals+

Autonomous Assistants at Work+

Better Design and Law+

Companionship and Therapy+

Ethical Dilemmas of Attachment+

Rights, Empathy, and Society+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7

What is the central analogy the author uses to help us understand our future relationship with robots?

A. Robots will inevitably function as a complete replacement for human intellect and labor.
B. Future robots are best understood as being analogous to animals and pets.
C. Robots will eventually evolve to form an independent, autonomous society.
D. Robots are strictly mechanical tools that will never possess the ability to learn or react.

Question 2 of 7

How does the author view the comparison between modern AI systems, like Watson, and working animals?

A. Both possess a broad, human-like understanding of their surroundings.
B. Both are eventually phased out when more advanced human workers become available.
C. Both are trained or programmed for singular, narrow-focused purposes.
D. Both have historically caused mass, permanent unemployment for human workers.

Question 3 of 7

What does the term 'fauxtomation' refer to in the context of the book?

A. The use of robots that are secretly controlled remotely by human workers in another location.
B. The implementation of automated systems that actually create more work and technical problems for human employees.
C. The practice of designing robots to look exactly like humans to make customers feel more comfortable.
D. The unfounded fear that robots will take over all manual labor jobs within the next decade.

Question 4 of 7

Why does the author mention the historical practice of putting animals on trial in the Middle Ages?

A. To prove that early legal systems were inherently flawed and superstitious.
B. To suggest that we will eventually need to put robots on trial for criminal behavior.
C. To show how our past legal evolution regarding animals could guide future regulations for robots and their owners.
D. To argue that animals and robots possess the exact same level of moral responsibility as humans.

Question 5 of 7

According to the text, why was Microsoft's virtual assistant 'Clippy' so widely disliked compared to animal companions?

A. Clippy lacked the advanced artificial intelligence necessary to be genuinely helpful.
B. Clippy was obtrusive and judgmental, thereby breaking basic social rules.
C. Clippy was designed to look too human, causing an unsettling 'uncanny valley' effect.
D. Clippy required constant maintenance and expensive software updates to function properly.

Question 6 of 7

What potential risk does the author identify regarding the strong emotional attachments people form with robots, such as Roombas or AIBO dogs?

A. People might stop interacting with other humans entirely in favor of robotic companions.
B. The robots might spontaneously develop consciousness and emotionally manipulate their owners.
C. Companies could exploit these attachments by charging exorbitant repair prices and subscription fees.
D. The robots will eventually refuse to perform tasks for anyone other than their primary owner.

Question 7 of 7

According to the author, what should be the primary focus when considering the ethical treatment and 'rights' of robots or animals?

A. Determining the exact level of consciousness and intelligence they possess.
B. Measuring their biological or mechanical capacity to feel physical pain.
C. Assessing how closely they resemble or mimic human beings in their interactions.
D. Deciding what kinds of behaviors we want to promote or deter in our own society.

The New Breed — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2Tomorrow’s robots will resemble animals and pets more than human beings in form.
3Humanity has long worked alongside programmed, autonomous assistants in many fields.
4By considering animals, we can devise far better designs and stronger legal frameworks for robots today.
5Good companion robots take cues from animals and are making strides in helping people.
6The deep bonds we form with robots may result in ethical dilemmas.
7By creating laws to protect robots, we might also strengthen our animal rights laws.

The New Breed Summary & Overview

The New Breed (2021) offers new insights into the ongoing debate surrounding robots and artificial intelligence. Instead of looking at robots as a human replacement or threat, the author sees a more accurate comparison in the long relationship we’ve had with autonomous animals, which have helped us feel better and get work done.

Who Should Listen to The New Breed?

Popular science enthusiasts
Panicking futurists
Technophobes

About the Author: Kate Darling

Kate Darling works as a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. With a focus on ethics, law, and economics, she’s interested in how technology converges with society and the challenges lawmakers and the public will face in the future.

The New Breed

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to The New Breed — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from The New Breed

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

The New Breed — Full Chapter Overview

The New Breed Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to The New Breed?

About the Author: Kate Darling

Books Similar to The New Breed