We use robots every day. From our laptop to our vacuum cleaner, robots are constantly around us. But have you ever wondered if a robot could be more than just a technological machine, could it be conscious? A robot is a programmable, self-controlled device made up of electronic, electrical or mechanical units. Consciousness is described as being aware of and responding to our surroundings. The connection between technology and consciousness is based on the question “is consciousness a material property?” If the theory of physicalism is correct, consciousness is a physical property. Therefore, if consciousness is a physical property, then robots could be conscious since physical material can be replicated/produced. However, if consciousness is not a material property, then we cannot produce it, which results in non-conscious robots. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Substance dualism is a theory that suggests that the mental and the physical are separate substances with independent existence. René Descartes, a French philosopher, defended the substance dualism argument using the “mind-body problem.” The mind-body problem is a problem concerning the relationship between thought and consciousness in the human mind and the brain as part of the physical body. Mind-body problems pose a series of questions, such as: "Are the mind and body separate? What is the relationship between mind and body?" What is consciousness? And how can consciousness emerge from ordinary matter?' These questions that remain unanswered call into question the thesis that robots could be conscious because they suggest that this property we call “consciousness” is not a physical property. Therefore, if the mind is immaterial, it cannot be replicated through a material thing. The theory of substance dualism is called into question by the doctrine of interactionism. Interactionism is a dualist position in the philosophy of mind that holds that the mind and body are separate, yet there is a causal interaction between the two. Descartes wondered how an immaterial entity, the mind, without extension into the physical world, can cause changes in a physical body, and how can a physical body cause changes, moods, or feelings in a non-physical mind? If the mind and body were truly two separate substances, as the theory of substance dualism states, this interaction would not occur. In contrast to substance dualism, physicalism is the doctrine that everything that exists is no more extensive than its physical properties. Phineas Gage was living proof that physicalism could be true. Phineas Gage was a mid-19th century railroad worker who suffered a serious brain injury when an explosion drove an iron spike into his brain. He survived the injury, but his personality changed significantly. In this example, Gage's mind, consciousness, and behavior are shown to be affected by the physical change. If the mind had not been physical, Gage's personality after the injury would have been as much "him" as his personality before the injury. So if the consciousness of Gage's head, your consciousness, and that of every other person were physical and could be replicated, robots could be conscious too. Although the example of Phineas Gage is a convincing argument in favor of the theory of physicalism, the theory is still questioned with the example of 'Maria's room'. This famous thought experiment first discussed by Frank Jackson, is the story of a girl named Mary who lives her life in an exclusively black and white room.,”.