• Home
  • About Drishtikone
  • Archives
Saturday, February 27, 2021
Drishtikone
  • Login
  • Home
  • Support Drishtikone
  • Special Stories
  • Newsletter
  • About Us
  • Drishtikone Dailypaper
  • Categories
    • India
    • Spirituality
    • Business
    • United States of America
    • Creative
    • History
  • Archives
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Support Drishtikone
  • Special Stories
  • Newsletter
  • About Us
  • Drishtikone Dailypaper
  • Categories
    • India
    • Spirituality
    • Business
    • United States of America
    • Creative
    • History
  • Archives
No Result
View All Result
Drishtikone
No Result
View All Result

Bureaucrats write memoranda both because they appear to be busy when they are writing and because the memos, once written, immediately become proof that they were busy.

Do Robotic Pet Dogs Have Souls?

February 27, 2015
in Relationships, Society
Reading Time: 4min read
2
12
SHARES
28
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterRedditWA
Hideko Mori (L) and her sister Yasuko watch their robot pet AIBO playing at Hideko's home in Tokyo ©Toshifumi Kitamura (AFP) {Courtesy: Daily Mail]
Hideko Mori (L) and her sister Yasuko watch their robot pet AIBO playing at Hideko’s home in Tokyo ©Toshifumi Kitamura (AFP) {Courtesy: Daily Mail]

Japanese these days are keeping Robotic pet dogs.  These pets stay with them and also become part of their lives.  These are no ordinary pets.  They are robotic pet dogs AIBO developed by Sony.  ‘AIBOs’ are “world’s first home-use entertainment robots equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and capable of developing their own personality” (source: Daily Mail). Sony has stopped making AIBOs since 2006.  Since then many “pet clinics” have opened up for repairs.  But now even they are closing down.  So as the “life” of the robot comes to an end, many AIBO owners are now preparing for their funerals!  Japanese believe that even pet dogs have a soul.

Do they?  Let us explore.

You may like these too

Chinese Artificial Intelligence startups not delivering enough despite large funding

What is Big Data and How can it help Companies?

Is the Party Over for Indian IT Companies?

Kissing: Exploring The Intimate Act of Love

Quantum Wave collapse has been a phenomenon that has been deeply debated.  The Copenhagen Interpretation, the most important (though one of the many interpretations) of quantum theories, says that at any given time, an electron could be a wave or a particle, and that on observation the wave collapsed into a particle.  While initially this observation was considered to be solely done by the human mind; subsequently, the human mechanism was also considered part of the large wave paradigm. Then the question was “who is the observer?”  It is then that the concept of Consciousness began to emerge amongst the Physicists.

Consciousness was the raison d’etre for the collapse of the wave, as it was in its lap that the particle or matter emerged; as per Henry Stapp.

What this means is that at a broad level we all are at once a Wave and a Particle – Wave and Matter.  While at the matter level, we are distinct and different from everything else in existence, we are one wave in the lap of the substratum, that is – consciousness.  We are One at the subtle level, yet at the physical level we are so distinct that, never.. ever.. ever.. have someone like you and I ever happened in existence!

It is in the interplay of this – Energy and Matter within the lap of Consciousness that the concept of Atman came up in India.  This was taken to the Far East as well.  Atman is a combination of an individual creation and primordial consciousness.  The understanding is clear that while consciousness doesn’t change, is not destroyed or created, the individual however is not there forever.  And this seed of individuality is what manifests as full blown matter at the gross level.**  What is seemingly One at the subtle, is now differentiated between my hand, this keyboard, the desk, the pen, the mouse, the clothes, the chair, the tree, the rocks, iron, wood and everything else.  While some matter is considered “dynamic” in Mysticism, the other matter type is “inert” (but only relatively).  All are nevertheless a vibration in the consciousness.

If we assume Atman and its other Eastern mystical variants to be akin to the Western conceptualization of the “Soul” (which isn’t so, however just for our purpose let us pretend it is); then, since the Soul is a dynamic individual seed, it does not occur in “Inert” matter.  However, if vibration in the Consciousness is existence or “Life” in other terms, then even inert substances have a definite vibration.

Now, let’s go back to AIBO.  With the advent of Artificial Intelligence – where intelligence takes on its own existence – the matters of the Soul in dynamic and inert substances are somewhat blurred.  At least at today’s level.  However amazingly sophisticated these robots maybe, they are still rudimentary compared to the human mechanism.

With the emerging study of “Near Death Experiences” and use of Quantum concepts on the brain, scientists are beginning to question – whether the brain is really the seat of memory and perception, and indeed intelligence, as thought earlier?  If one can remember everything that happened around the body, when one was brain dead and incapable of remembering or perceiving, then is the brain the “real deal”?  It is a fair question.  And a very important question to ask.  Many contend that the brain is a mere container.  Just like you pour hot coffee in a cup and the cup becomes hot.  The cup didn’t create the heat nor did it create the coffee-ness.. it became a mere container.  To confuse the brain with the characteristics of the dynamic life that resides there is akin to saying that the cup, any cup – empty or with coffee – had all the coffee-ness characteristics.

Do Robotic Pet Dogs have Souls?  Can you sympathize with them? @AIBO #Robots #ArtificialIntelligence Click To Tweet

If we view our understanding of a dynamic life through that paradigm, then we find that creating basic calculative intelligence, even one which calculates and propagates itself endlessly, doesn’t have the dynamics of life energy that we talk about when it comes to a living being.  This intelligence is not in mere terms of physicality, but much beyond.

So are the AIBO or other robots “life” or not?

Maybe it is sometimes irrelevant.  For example, here is a scene of one of the scientists from Google’s Boston Dynamics demonstrating how stable a robotic dog – Spot, developed by them was.  He kicks it and it immediately balances itself.  This one scene has created a world-wide stir on ethics in robotic treatment!  Some have called it cruel and in-human.  Is it really so?  What would you say?  Isn’t it a real grey area?

Boston Dynamics courtesy Daily Mail
Boston Dynamics courtesy Daily Mail

 

So, if you can feel sympathy for a robotic dog, would you blame the Japanese for participating in funerals for their AIBOs?

Kofuku-ji temple chief priest Bungen Oi (R) offers a prayer during the funeral for 19 Sony's pet robot AIBOs, in Isumi, Japan's Chiba prefecture ©Toshifumi Kitamura (AFP) [Courtesy Daily Mail]
Kofuku-ji temple chief priest Bungen Oi (R) offers a prayer during the funeral for 19 Sony’s pet robot AIBOs, in Isumi, Japan’s Chiba prefecture ©Toshifumi Kitamura (AFP) [Courtesy Daily Mail]

 

** It is important to remember that the Sanskrit word for “Creation” is “Kriti”.  Yet, the Yogis didn’t call this existence “Kriti”, but referred to it as “Srishti”, which comes from the word Srijan – the word used for a tree coming from a seed, where all the characteristics of a tree are unmanifested in a seed and the tree is a manifestation of all that a seed holds.  Importantly, the tree is not a “creation” of the seed!  The closest word in English language to Srijan therefore is manifestation (although not completely similar).  So the Yogis considered this existence as a Manifestation and certainly not a Kriti or a Creation.  Which is in alignment with the Quantum Theory, where it is clear that no “Creation” ever occurs!

Featured Image Source: Flickr

Tags: Aerial photographyAIBOArnold Schwarzeneggerartificial intelligenceBerkeleyBig DataCaliforniaCrowdSourcingEntertainment robot
drishtikone

drishtikone

The panache of a writer is proven by the creative pen he uses to transform the most mundane topic into a thrilling story. Drishtikone - the author, critic and analyst uses the power of his pen to create thought-provoking pieces from ordinary topics of discussion. He writes on myriad interesting themes. Read the articles to know more about his views and "drishtikone".

Related Posts

sex toys corona
Relationships

Sky-rocketing Sex Toys sales in Corona lockdown globally

April 11, 2020
sexually
Relationships

Women too sexually abuse men when they get power and money

September 17, 2019
extra-marital
Relationships

70% Indian Women have had Extra-marital Affairs says study

May 4, 2020
Motivation and Personal Development

Sexual Abuse and Addiction: Mental or Social Battle is Not Enough!

April 20, 2020

Comments 2

  1. Santosh says:
    6 years ago

    Interesting thought process…. however, hollywood has already added souls into inanimate objects, all one has to do is watch horror movies like Child’s play, etc. It is just a matter of time before they inbibe a toy dog with another spirit and make it bite beautiful heroines 😛

    Loading...
    • Desh Kapoor says:
      6 years ago

      hahaha Pet Dog biting beautiful heroines! I like your thoughts 🙂 Thanks so much, Santosh!!

      Loading...
Drishtikone

© 2005-2020 Drishtikone.com

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Support Drishtikone
  • Special Stories
  • Newsletter
  • About Us
  • Drishtikone Daily
  • Categories
    • India
    • Spirituality
    • Business
    • United States of America
    • Creative
    • History
  • Archives

© 2005-2020 Drishtikone.com

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
%d bloggers like this: