Mind-altering substances are buckets of fun for humans, but what about for robots? An excellent article at Hopes and Fears wondered if our future robot overlords are going to spend their weekends getting baked out of their minds. (Spoiler: We’re not sure.) But for me, the article raised an even more pressing question: What would a robot on drugs even look like?
A quick scan of the internet shows humans have been trying to answer that question for a long time. Here are a few favourite examples of robots under the influence.
An Android with Emotions is Like a Human on Coke
Data, the loveable and laughable Android of the Starship Enterprise, is always aspiring to be more human. But when Data finally gets to experience humanity by sticking an emotion chip in his brain, his positronic relays go into overdrive. The result…isn’t pretty.
From fits of uncontrollable laughter and violent rage to sudden bouts of paranoia, Data on emotions is basically a human on coke.
Low Battery is Like Oxygen Deprivation
Depriving your brain of oxygen is a great way to get yourself good and crunk! Low battery, same idea.
Too Much Power, On the Other Hand….
Desperately craving too much of anything is called addiction — whether we’re talking ice cream, crack cocaine, or delicious, mind-altering electricity.
Robots Freak Out On Drugs, Too
Sure, this poor Dalek may have just swallowed a fatal dose of an anti-radiation drug, but to the rest of us, he’s just a poor stoner freakin’ out.
Drunk Droids Get Into Bar Fights
Droids of the Star Wars universe don’t get to experience the intoxicating effects of alcohol, poor suckers. They can, however, program themselves to feel drunk, which did not end so well for one I-Five protocol droid. He became a drunk arsehole, and managed to provoke a Wookie into ripping his arm out.
Still, we all know it could have ended worse.
Image via Wookipedia
A Robot That Trips Acid Already Exists!
Lest we forgot, the Internet went wild this summer over Google’s Deep Dream system, a sophisticated computer algorithm that turns perfectly normal images of everyday things into acid-infused nightmarescapes.
Sure, one could argue the algorithm was just acting according to its programming. But if you think about it, doesn’t this just mean we programmed a bot to trip acid?
