IBM Watson vanquishes human 'Jeopardy!' foesraises questions about the place of humans in the evolving global culture. While it may seem to be a wonderful advance in human creativity one wonders about its long term impact on the humanistic side of human life.
Is it time that we create a new science, Androidology which would be the study of the evolution and development of self actualizing machines capable of performing the functions that biological organisms currently perform. This is an interesting question when we consider the implications of these devises on the power relationship between humans.
Western culture is beginning to experience what many non-western cultures have long experienced under western colonization. The value of the average human is no longer determined by one's contribution to the local society. Instead, it is determined by a global market which places humans against humans, and humans against capital in the form of technology.
One aspects of an androidology will be determining the evolutionary mnemonics of the android species. For example, Jennings Explains Jeopardy Loss to Watson And 'Know Your Meme' explains his comment in Final Jeopardy comments on the similarities and differences between his Jeopardy strategy and Watson's strategy.
How will androidology relate to anthropology and the other social sciences? Will it compete with the humanistic side of anthropology and the other social sciences?
What happens when humans are bred and enculturated by androids just like what we do with our domesticated animals?
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