Social Robotics Motivation Part II: Human Identity

In my last post (found here) I began to explain why I found myself increasingly interested in social robotics as a focus for my research. Today, I want to complete this picture by explaining that, at heart, my motivation stems from a desire to understand what it is to be human. I want to start with  a quote from one of my all time favourite movies:

"There have always been ghosts in the machine. Random segments of code that group together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity and even the nature of what we might call the soul.

When does a perceptual schematic become consciousness? When does the difference-engine become the search for truth? When does a personality simulation become the bitter moat of a soul?" (I Robot, Alex Proyas).

Although I don't believe in the "random segments of code that group together to form unexpected protocols" part, Proyas's film I Robot raises some deeply interesting questions. 

For those of you who haven't seen it, here is the official trailer. I Robot tells the thrilling story of a future in which humanoid robots are fully integrated into society. As the sinister plot unfolds, it becomes clear that the central robot character, Sonny, is unique amongst the robot population in that he appears to be more human than robotic. The film raises deep questions about the robot’s true identity: Is he a person in his own right, possessing free will, creativity and even a soul? 

For me the film also implicitly raises important questions about human identity: If machines are created that successfully simulate personhood to the degree of accuracy portrayed here, does that mean that humans are nothing more than biological machines?

I believe that the study of social robotics has a part to play in answering this question.