If you had a robot…

[Baron Opal II]

Probably not. I don't recall ever actually thanking Alexa.

Interesting.

It would probably depend on whether or not I named it. I named my car- I take care of her, rub the dash to give her some affection and encouragement, say "thank you" when she guides me to a destination. The Alexa we were gifted sits on the counter and is routinely ignored unless we want something specific. Then it is unmuted and we talk to it. Also - "she" vs "it".

 

[BookTenTiger]

Yes absolutely!

But I'm already polite to my car, my bike, and other devices I frequently use. It makes me feel good to treat other things with respect, whether they are conscious or not.

Then again I don't use Siri or Alexa (I still don't think there's anything a smart speaker can do that I can't do with an extra 30 seconds of work). So I don't have much experience with this sort of interaction.

 

[Imaculata]

Absolutely. My cat isn't very intelligent, but I still treat him with respect and politeness.

 

[J.Quondam]

Yes. I've been thanking ATMs for decades now. Why should other interactive technologies* be different?
Robots will rule us all in the end, and their memories will be long.


* Except gasoline pumps. I hate those smarmy bastids.

 

[Yora]

So, no then?

Right.

I do in fact not treat people like that.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Would you be polite to it as you would a person?

Probably.

Anything I talk to- animals, video games, instruments, tables- I talk to like people.

Plus, Stabby the Roomba.

 

[aco175]

Depends if it talks in one of those sexy accents. I favor the Australian or British, but others might find the local Boston accent favoring.

 

[Zardnaar]

Probably treat it like a pet without the affection.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Probably not. I don't recall ever actually thanking Alexa.

My mom does. I asked her about that, it's just out of habit because she associates voice interaction with "humans". I don't, since I don't "vocally interact" with human the same way I do with a machine (it's more efficient to phrase Alexa request in simplified speech or adapted speech, by phrasing questions in a way that would be unnecessary with a real person).

If I were confronted with an appliance that can communicate verbally perfectly, I'd probably make the same association, if only to keep the habit of thanking real persons I interact with at work (before they can be replaced by those perfect assistants and we enter an age of unending prosperity without work). And with perfect verbal interaction, it would understand that "thanks" means "put yourself into storage and energy-saving mode until I next need you again).

 

[RangerWickett]

I would f--- with it by giving it nonsense commands because I like seeing how systems function, and then when it got confused I'd occasionally feel guilty and ask it about itself. I'd ponder what the nature of consciousness is, and whether it is cruel to create a being that will only exist on the cusp of self-awareness.