The russian-made android robot Fedor is not the first automaton to be found on the International Space Station (ISS). But it is the first one that emitted a “distress signal” when it saw an astronaut approaching it holding a hammer: mayday mayday, ops. I inform: this one here wants to harm me!!!…
The ops. center should have assured Fedor that it “controls” its fellow traveler and his intentions, and that there is no problem. It is strange, but there, somewhere in the space above our heads, Fedor, the first of the “smart” robots, raised the issue of control and disposition not of its own but of its human “partner”.
Is this the first event of claim to robots’ rights? Is it the first misunderstanding in human / machine relationships? History will decide…