The Future Is Now: Our Kids Are Beginning to Trust Robots More Than Humans

Given what a new study has found, it's only a matter of time before our children replace all us old heads with robots.

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It’s been a minute since I wrote one of these ‘The Future Is Now’ pieces. When I’m scouring my curated list, I’m always looking for goofy headlines, odd inventions, or robots/AI doing some weird weird stuff. Every now and then, I’ll come across a story that makes me nerd out a little bit. Like, maybe I can’t crack as many jokes about it because it is kind of unsettling, but it’s so fascinating that I feel compelled to share it with the SoBros Network supporters. When I was scrolling through the headlines, I came across this piece from Science Alert titled ‘Strange Discovery Suggests Children Trust Robots Over Humans‘ and I thought to myself, “this one might not be particularly funny, but you got me…I’m hooked.

So first of all, shout out to Science Alert for writing such a catchy headline. I don’t know if your editor was in the lab thinking y’all needed to cook up some clickbait or not, but it worked. Bravo. Tip of the cap. I’d recommend taking the time to read that piece as well as the original study that is also linked and published on Science Alert because it’s super interesting, especially if you’re into psychology like I am. The gist of it is that, per Science Alert:

“In a study involving 111 kids aged between 3 and 6 years old, the youngsters showed a preference for believing robots more and being more accepting when robots made mistakes.”

This is bad news for the old heads like me. Guess what…I make a lot of mistakes. Now, I’m hearing that children are more likely to believe that I made those mistakes on purpose compared to a robot?!?! Bro, give me a break. I’m just a dude. I’m a clumsy dude – sometimes, I stub my toe and I drop the laundry hamper. I swear I’m not doing that shit on purpose. I feel very conflicted about this whole thing, though. On one hand, yes, I’m insulted to be trusted less than a robot. On the other hand, I don’t trust anyone in this day and age. Call me Stone Cold Steve Austin because I’m on my DTA shit. I see people do dumb stuff sometimes, and think “there’s no way you’re that dumb.” I also see people do crazy stuff sometimes and think, “your intentions are impure.” I’m as cynical as they come, baby. Luke Bryan wrote a song about how “most people are good,” and brother, I could not disagree more. If I were to write a song, it would be called “most people are only in it for themselves and don’t slow down enough to actually care about the people they share this planet with.” That’s got ‘#1 on the Billboard charts’ written all over it. Maybe just a simple “people are shitty” would be more succinct. Regardless, I can totally see it. Humans have been stepping in their own shit for centuries. Not robots! So, maybe I’m actually with the kids on this one.

Alright…anyway, I’ve gotta at least get one joke off in this piece before I dip on out of here. Has the entertainment industry been priming children to trust robots for the past 30 years by presenting them as harmless, pure entities in cartoons and children’s programming? Now that I’ve typed that out, and given what we’ve read here today, that actually doesn’t come across as humorous as it did when I started writing this commentary. I don’t think a lot of you guys will be cackling at that. It’s not really a joke – maybe just one of those ‘nervous laughter’ moments like when you can’t help but laugh at a funeral? I don’t know. I’m sorry I’ve made this all so weird.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

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