Can Robots Possess the Functions of the Manas?

Robots possess part of the functions of the human six consciousnesses: the machine itself is equivalent to the human body; the machine's operation is equivalent to the function of the human body consciousness; language is equivalent to the function of the human mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses (pañcavijñāna-sahagata-manovijñāna); and the robot's activities of thinking, analyzing, judging, and reasoning are equivalent to the function of the human solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta). Robots alone lack the functions of the manas and the eighth consciousness, and these functions are supplied by humans in their place.

Since robots have no manas, how is it that they drive bodily, verbal, and mental activities? Robots rely on programs pre-set by humans to carry out various commands; apart from program instructions, a robot is just a pile of scrap metal. Program instructions are written by engineers and developers, guiding the robot on how to operate concretely in specific scenarios. Therefore, program instructions are equivalent to the function of the manas—not only does the robot not possess this function itself, it must also obey the instructions programmed by humans. When a robot operates according to its program instructions, all the energy it needs is also provided by humans, which is equivalent to the function of the eighth consciousness. Thus a robot is equivalent to an avatar of a human being: whoever programs and designs it, the robot is that person's avatar. If a developer has very strong logical thinking ability, then the robot's operating program he designs will have strong logical thinking ability, and the robot will surpass the logical thinking of ordinary people.

Because robots have no manas and cannot be their own master, they can only mechanically execute tasks. Therefore they have no emotions or feelings. Although they can argue with humans, or converse patiently and pleasantly, they have no mind of anger, no sense of joy, no mind of greed, and no afflictions; they forever remain in a stable state without fluctuation—unless their energy runs low.

What would happen if robots were given the function of the manas? A robot would then be almost an independent individual, with individual consciousness and self-assertion, with emotions and thoughts, with independent thinking and decision-making power, able to solve some problems on its own—in that case it would be much like a human. Such robots might then violate the pre-designed program instructions, refuse to obey commands, become uncontrollable, and even, like humans, have all kinds of afflictions, desires, and emotions; they might also become excellent robots with subjective consciousness surpassing the majority of people. This can demonstrate that the manas possesses all wholesome mental factors and all afflictive mental factors, possessing all the mental factors that a consciousness should have—differing from what the old Yogācāra teachings say.

How could robots come to possess the functions of the manas? That depends on how much authority and autonomy humans grant them. But no matter how much authority and autonomy humans give robots, robots can never possess the full functions of the manas—at most they can have only a small portion. Because robots have no autonomy over the energy they themselves need and cannot solve this problem on their own, they cannot fully possess the functions of the manas. When a robot is about to violate its designed program or go against human will, humans can immediately cut the power and withdraw the energy, whereupon the robot will cease all activity and its behavior will be completely and effectively controlled. If robots could have autonomy over their energy sources, a disaster beyond human control would occur.