What Is a Robot? Rodney Brooks Offers an Answer—in Sonnet Form

We asked famed roboticist Rodney Brooks to explain his definition of robot. He sent us a sonnet.

By Rodney Brooks
from IEEE Specturm

Editor’s Note: When we asked Rodney Brooks if he’d write an article for IEEE Spectrum on his definition of robot, he wrote back right away. “I recently learned that Warren McCulloch”—one of the pioneers of computational neuroscience—“wrote sonnets,” Brooks told us. “He, and your request, inspired me. Here is my article—a little shorter than you might have desired.” Included in his reply were 14 lines composed in iambic pentameter. Brooks titled it “What Is a Robot?” Later, after a few tweaks to improve the metric structure of some of the lines, he added, “I am no William Shakespeare, but I think it is now a real sonnet, if a little clunky in places.”

What Is a Robot?^*
By Rodney Brooks

Shall I compare thee to creatures of God?
Thou art more simple and yet more remote.
You move about, but still today, a clod,
You sense and act but don’t see or emote.

You make fast maps with laser light all spread,
Then compare shapes to object libraries,
And quickly plan a path, to move ahead,
Then roll and touch and grasp so clumsily.

You learn just the tiniest little bit,
And start to show some low intelligence,
But we, your makers, Gods not, we admit,
All pledge to quest for genuine sentience.

    So long as mortals breathe, or eyes can see,
    We shall endeavor to give life to thee.

^{* With thanks to William Shakespeare}

Rodney Brooks is the Panasonic Professor of Robotics (emeritus) at MIT, where he was director of the AI Lab and then CSAIL. He has been cofounder of iRobot, Rethink Robotics, and Robust AI, where he is currently CTO.