If you were given the choice to become a robot, would you take it? I am sure your instinctive reaction is a resounding “Of course not!” However, there are many benefits of being a robot. Here are ten reasons why being a robot would be beneficial:

1. No stress. According to medicinenet.com, stress is caused by a physical or emotional change, or a change in your environment that requires you to adjust or respond. A robot experiences no stress because it just follows a pre-planned script that encompasses any situation in which it is placed.
2. No depression. A robot never has time to be depressed since all of its energy is poured into whatever task it is currently performing. It is totally consumed by the now.
3. No guilt. Guilt or regret happens when we do something that we later regret. Robot’s don’t experience this since all of their actions are programmed by someone else. If anything, the robot might get angry at its programmer. However, even this won’t happen unless the robot was programmed to do this, which would be unlikely.
4. Deliberation is calculated and rational. A robot will only deliberate when it faces a decision about which it has not been programmed to respond. In this case, it would quickly deliberate to find the action that would be closest aligned to what it was programmed to do and function in that way until specifically programmed differently according to the situation.
5. Respond rather than react to stimuli. A robot is not “surprised” by anything that happens to it. It doesn’t react rashly or emotionally to unanticipated situations. Instead, it calmly responds in the rational way in which it has been programmed to respond.
6. Little ambiguity about purpose. A robot’s purpose is always crystal clear: to complete what it has been programmed to accomplish. It doesn’t have to wrestle with whether an activity is worthwhile or beneficial. It simply executes the next action on its hard drive.
7. Ability to view pain simply as neurons firing in the brain rather than as an energy-sapping demon. A robot would sense pain as a signal that something is wrong and respond accordingly. It would not languish and consider suicide to end the pain. In doing so, it would be able to most effectively alleviate the pain.
8. Not worried about what others think. A robot has no regard for the feelings or wishes of anyone else. It will perform any action it is programmed for without thought of anything else. It will never let social constraints hold it back.
9. Not afraid of failure. There is no reticence on the part of a robot in doing what it has been programmed to do. It only functions in the present moment and simply functions according to the instructions given to it.
10. Not despondent about messing up. If a robot does mess up in performing a task, there is no shame or embarrassment at having done so. Instead, it simply changes what it needs to so it can accomplish its mission.

Perhaps after reading this, you are warming up to the idea that being a robot isn’t all that bad. Actually, I am sure you are not doing anything of the sort. Why? I can answer that in one word: freedom. Embedded in our psyche is a drive for complete autonomy. Sometimes we choose to settle with something less than that, but that is always in the back of our minds. The problem is, freedom usually brings along with it all the negative things listed above, such as stress, depression, and fear. So, is there any way we can maximize our freedom while minimizing these negative by-products? I believe there is.

Many attempt to solve this dilemma by following some religion. However, I believe making any religious presuppositions the fundamental framework for your life is a very limiting option, unless someone could prove conclusively that the tenets of the religion were true using logic and evidence. My solution is actually much simpler and more liberating than religion. In fact, any person regardless of their religious affiliation could use the method I do without compromising any of their beliefs, at least initially. The method I am referring to I have outlined in previous posts as Living in Appointed Times by Faith. The main reason I wrote this post was to dispel the myth that being a robot was bad, because this would be the main objection to this paradigm, which you can read about by following the link above, as well as part 2, part 3, and part 4. Being a robot is only bad if one or both of the aspects below is true:

1. Someone else is programming you. This is often what happens with religion. A person gives up their reasoning and moral compass to follow a holy book or an expert that they believe without good evidence has the important answers to life’s great questions.
2. The program you are following can never change. The capacity for change is what freedom is all about. No one (I think) will choose to follow one set of parameters for ever. This would result in eternal boredom.

In my ideal paradigm, I follow a preset program of how to behave, think, and respond during scientific appointed times. Then, during philosophical appointed times, I reprogram my robot (or avatar) based on many factors that were processed during the previous week. This cycle can repeat endlessly, producing maximum efficiency, maximum freedom, and maximum enlightenment.

Now, to be honest, I am a horrible robot. I am very moody and am constantly evaluating everything. I get despondent about life very easily, but I also have times of ecstasy after having a breakthrough in some area. This is why this paradigm is perfect for me. It helps me to stay grounded and to realize that change happens gradually. I realize that not even the best paradigm can necessarily work for everyone. I would love to hear your critiques of this paradigm as well as its merits if you have tried it out. I really hope all of my readers are able to live life to the fullest and attain the highest possible level of happiness.

One final note: I don’t want it to sound like I am disparaging religion. I myself currently follow a religion, albeit my own unique version of it. What I do object to is making any religion the starting point in a person’s epistemology. This could be a road to disaster. Everything has to come down to logic and evidence in the search for truth.