Berkeley paper uses the Midas myth to rethink robotics beyond human imitation
begusgasper · x · 2026-10-16
UC Berkeley researchers Nicole Oliva and Nina Beguš published an 18-page paper, "The Midas Myth in Robotics: A Case for Liminality." They propose a "Midas Paradigm" for robotics and tech ethics: instead of reading Midas as a warning or success story, use his liminal qualities to think about machines on their own potential rather than as human imitation — framing liminality as a generative condition for alternative embodiments, relationships, and values in social robotics.
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