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comment by theadvancedapes
theadvancedapes  ·  3935 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why do we feel so much for machines?

My opinion:

    Why do we feel so much empathy for what we know are 'dumb' machines?

Because they are extensions of ourselves. They are essential parts of us. We are cyborgs.

    Why do we anthropomorphize them so easily?

Similar reasons. We imbue them with super-human abilities. We can't see to the edge of the universe, so we invent Hubble. We can't live on Mars, so we invent Curiosity.

    Why is that one XKCD so damn sad?

Because there is a sensing extension of the human collective trapped on another planet.