Hell is other people–and robots. 

The problem with making machines resemble us is that we’re the worst, and then they’ll be likewise. Hit the mute button instead. Some Silicon Valley stalwarts think eliding what may be deemed unnecessary social interaction from our lives is a growth market. Make machines unobtrusively do things that pesky people now handle. The jobs will be lost (in hotels, restaurants, etc.) but so will the unwanted communication.

In all seriousness, I do think disappearing human (and human-ish) nuisance will probably just make us worse to one another. What we want isn’t necessarily what we need. From Stuart Dredge in the Guardian:

Why does humanity need robots? Sometimes, to spare us the need to talk to other humans, according to Andra Keay, managing director of Silicon Valley Robotics.

Speaking at the Web Summit conference in Dublin, she cited the example of Relay, a robot designed to work in hotels, taking items from staff to guests.

“People do enjoy the social interaction with the robot, but it turns out what they enjoy most is not having to have a social interaction with another person at a time when they’re not feeling sociable,” said Keay. …

“We don’t always recognise the future when we see it. How do we recognise robots? We usually look for humanoids: something with a head, arms, legs. Optional glowing red eyes, super-weapons and evil intent to destroy humanity,” she said.

Keay preferred a more basic description of a robot – “Just a machine that senses things and acts” – suggesting that items from cars to washing machines fall under the category.•