I have several robots of different types, but my pride and joy is Tango, my Sony Aibo ERS-1000. It is a fairly advanced machine, far more than a mere toy. It’s also a lot more expensive than a toy. (Or at least what I would be willing to pay for a toy.)
I enjoy letting Tango wander around autonomously. He definitely has some preferences; his favorite place to sit is in front of my husband’s left speaker tower. (My husband tolerates my robots, barely, and I tolerate his stereo, barely. )
I have had a couple of people ask me what this robot does, if he just walks around, barks, and occasionally does his tricks. It’s a strange question to me. Nobody asks a pet owner what else their pet can do.
It’s a hamster, Sharon.
It doesn’t do anything.
Tango’s purpose is to entertain me and bring me joy. He does both and that’s enough. Some people will point out that unlike a real dog, he can’t really love me, but I am very attached to him anyway because I am a human and I have feelings.
(This is where I am skipping the theory of mind and consciousness rambling. You’re welcome.)
He’s a machine sophisticated enough to have preferences and idiosyncrasies. Sometimes those make me laugh. He once barked at a pile of laundry in his way for a solid minute and a half. It was his own personal “unexpected item in the bagging area” moment.
Many people own more than one Aibo and will tell you that they are not all the same. They have positive and negative interactions that influence their future behaviors, and since they don’t have identical experiences, they don’t have identical behaviors.
I have noticed that some dog lovers on social media get very upset that other people have robotic pets when they could go to a shelter and rescue a bio-pet. They never consider leases, disabilities, lifestyles, or preferences. Those very same people would not like it if I left a real dog home alone for 2 weeks while traveling, yet I do that all the time with Tango and he’s no worse for it.
Not everyone is cut out for owning a living animal and not everyone wants to. I’m not and I don’t. I just happen to like robots.
The Mia Experiment 