Examining the Sensitive Side of Robots

Lee Gutkind's book, Almost Human, examines the quest for robot autonomy.

C.E. Mitchell

Science fiction and pop culture have conspired to make most of us think of robots as something out of Terminator or I, Robot.

But after six years of behind-the-scenes reporting from the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Lee Gutkind knows better.

Gutkind, the founder and editor of the literary journal Creative Nonfiction, examines the subculture surrounding these mechanical creatures in a new book, Almost Human: Making Robots Think.

He found that today's robots are more fun than ferocious, and scientists are making wires and chips increasingly human-like.

Gutkind talks with Neal Conan about the sensitive side of robots.