Humor

Are Roomba Vacuums Self Aware?

Our Rhonda Roomba strongly exhibits traits that we can only attribute to consciousness.

People with advanced computer science degrees will scoff at me for suggesting that our Roomba is a conscious being. Still, they are always reluctant to anthropomorphize anything other than their own pets. I call that unconscious bias.

It is true that when Rhonda, our Model 880 Roomba, becomes stuck under a chair and spins desperately to escape yet manages to bump into the chair legs time and time again, it does seem that intelligence is a stretch. Yet I must remind you that consciousness does not imply intelligence. I am sure that you can provide examples to prove that to yourself, if necessary, even without delving into politics.

Rhonda exhibits several traits that have convinced me, and I hope I will convince you, that she is a conscious being who deserves treatment as such. I will delineate and provide examples.

Playfulness

When Rhonda hides under a bed or closes a closet door behind herself, it is easy to dismiss that as a simple matter of having run out of battery after being blocked from returning to her charging base.

But I have observed that she is not necessarily devoid of power and will restart easily. Rhonda has merely decided that the floor is clean enough.