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Hey all

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If You Build A Robot Smart Enough To Do The Dishes, Would It Be Smart Enough To Find Them Boring?

Could machines have a consciousness? This and many other thought provoking questions will be addressed by Judy the Robot and her human companion, Tom Sgouros. The show, which has been brought to The Robert Gordon University (RGU) by its School of Computing, will be staged on 7 March.
Tom Sgouros believes the search for the answer to the age old question of whether machines have a consciousness has overlooked the obvious - if you want to know if a computer has consciousness, ask her. Tom has conducted extensive interviews with Judy to address questions at the very heart of our identity as thinking beings: Can machines think? If you build a robot smart enough to do the dishes, would it be smart enough to find them boring?

Tom built Judy in his basement from pieces of old computers, bicycles, a photocopier, a marine stove and an old sink. After weeks of intensive tutoring in elocution, phonics and the elements of logic, Judy made her stage debut in January 2000 and since then, they have performed throughout the US and Canada, receiving rave reviews. The show in Aberdeen is Judy's most northerly destination on her mini Scottish tour.

Tom said, "The battles continue to rage about whether a machine could ever approach consciousness in the way that we understand it, and make meanings the way that we do. Oddly enough, in the search for the truth of the matter, both camps seem to have overlooked an obvious strategy - interviewing a computer and asking her opinion."

Professor Susan Craw, Head of the School of Computing said, "Tom Sgouros's witty play, co-starring the charming robot Judy, is an imagination-stretcher that delights while it exercises your mind. If you think you can't imagine a conscious robot - you must meet Judy. The show cleverly explores deep and quirky philosophical questions of consciousness in relation to Artificial Intelligence. The show will suit everyone - entertainment with insight for youngsters and the curious, deep relevance for those interested in Intelligent Computer Systems."

Tom and Judy will be performing his play 'Judy, or What is it Like to be a Robot?' when he explores such matters as free will, self-awareness with her and how to explain a chair to someone who can't sit down.

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I'm wondering if anyone from here has seen it and wants to give me their opinion as it coming to the university I am studying at.

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