11 GROUNDWORK—SYNTHESIS, GROUNDING, AND AUTHENTICITY

It is going to be very difficult to build intelligent robots that think and behave like humans. At least, that appears to be the message from the review of artificial intelligence (AI) in part I. We explored whether robots can be as useful, intelligent, physically competent, and mentally flexible as people are, and we found evidence that very useful and intelligent robots will become commonplace in the near future, and many of them will supersede our physical and mental abilities in various ways. It is clear that both AI and robotic technology are currently on an accelerating curve, and some very powerful systems will be created in the next few decades. But they won't be as mentally flexible as people, and they won't think and behave like humans. They certainly don't at the moment, and there is little evidence to show that they are likely to do so in the future.