For many robot makers, this kind of gendering helps infuse the machine with personality, and therefore make it easier for the consumer to form a bond. (As someone who has met a lot of robots, trust me, it’s really hard to resist.) The maker of this cute little tractor-like robot refers to it as “he,” even though it’s about as genderless as can be. The problem is that even if a robot isn’t gendered, and even if it doesn’t look human or even animal, you’ll tend to want to gender it. By decoupling size and strength in robots, their builders have an opportunity to reinforce the machines’ inhumanity, physiologically speaking. But size doesn’t necessarily equal strength-electric motors don’t grow like muscle when you exercise them. A designer might, for example, want their home robot to look burly to telegraph that it’s strong enough to lift you out of bed. Of course, designers won’t always intentionally exploit gender stereotypes. So why go backwards? Why refer to gender norms from the 1960s?” “Globally, the social movement we're moving towards is equality. “It'd be great if somehow we could use robots as a tool to better understand ourselves, and maybe even influence some positive change,” says Carpenter. Robots could just as easily be used to confront, and begin changing, those stereotypes. The danger is that robot makers, consciously or not, may exploit gender stereotypes to try to make their machines more effective-designing a receptionist robot to be more feminine and therefore more “welcoming,” or a security robot to be more broad-shouldered and therefore more “authoritative.” One study, for instance, found that participants judged a robot programmed to perform security work as more masculine, while they judged the same robot instead programmed for guidance to be more feminine (echoing the gender preferences toward voice assistants). Yet we are already finding ways to mirror our social problems in our robots. Gender is a complicated mix of biology, which robots don’t have, and how we feel about that biology, feelings that robots also lack. Robots don’t have genders-they’re metal and plastic and silicon, and filled with ones and zeroes. Scientists are just beginning to consider how these gender biases materialize in physical robots. Research shows that users tend to like a male voice when an authoritative presence is needed and a female voice when receiving helpful guidance. How gender biases manifest in the design of voice assistants is well-worn territory. ![]() Perhaps the biggest issue-yet most subtle- is gender. “It's very distorted, especially right now when we're still being introduced to the idea of robots, especially real humanoid robots that exist in the world outside of science fiction.” “I think of it more as a funhouse mirror,” says Julie Carpenter, who studies human-robot interaction. That also means we have the very real opportunity to screw up robots by infusing them with exaggerated, overly simplified gender stereotypes. A robot is a mirror held up not just to its creator, but to our whole species: What we make of the machine reflects what we are. ![]() Want a mean one? Sure, if that’s what you’re into. Then maximize leverage with the synergy of a paradigm shift: a win-win situation.Robots are the most powerful blank slate humans have ever created. Think outside the box with these Professional Zombies' client-focused, scaling, best-of-breed core competency: eating brains. ![]() For extra fun, see what happens when two Gas Giants collide! Cards He can also move Plants around the battlefield or hurt them with damaging cards.ĭecks The Sporting Un-Life Dancing Machine A Feast for Beasts Stop Hitting Yourself Description įireworks Zombie and Barrel of Deadbeards hit not only Plants, but your own team as well! This means free hits on Newspaper Zombies, Gargantuar-throwing Imps, and Hippity Hop Gargantuars. Z-Mech can boost the Strength of Hearty Zombies, or the Health of Crazy Zombies. Hearty - Rock Wall: A Zombie gets +5 Health. Do 1 damage to all other Plants.Ĭrazy - Electrobolt: Do 3 damage to a Plant.Ĭrazy - Brute Strength: A Zombie gets +3 Strength. Signature - Missile Madness: Do 3 damage to a Plant.
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