Why Scientists (And The Rest Of Us) Need Robots To Fear Their Own Death

Every week this theme of how to make technology more human seems to resurface in a slightly different way. Last week, a story about some new research from legendary neurologist and authorAntonio Damasiocaught my eye with an unusual thesis: robots could be more resilient and valuable to humanity if they had a sense of self-preservation. It’s a dangerously elegant idea.

Since the central plot device of any dystopian science fiction narrative that features artificial intelligence taking over...