In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Julie Carpenter to discuss artificial intelligence, the future of robots, and what these technologies mean for humans. How do we understand our identity as technology continues to advance, and how far away are we from the dystopic future painted in futuristic movies?

Dr. Julie Carpenter is a world-leading expert on robot-human relationships. She made headlines in 2013 when she released her groundbreaking new study on the emotional ties between military personnel and military robots. As a result of the study, which revealed that soldiers often name and even fall in love with their robots, and hold funerals for robots that have been destroyed, the public came face-to-face with a reality that had previously only been considered in the realm of science fiction. As autonomous systems proliferate in both the military and civilian spheres, Carpenter’s research will become extremely important; it will help us understand not only how we will have feelings for robots, but also the ethical, social and practical consequences of developing relationships with machines. Carpenter has inaugurated a complex and perhaps uncomfortable discussion about an issue which, bizarre as it may seem to us now, will eventually touch everyone who interacts with autonomous machines.

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You can find Dr. Julie Carpenter on Twitter at @JGCarpenter