Robots already vacuum our floors, help dispose of bombs and are exploring Mars. But in his new book, “Robot Futures” Illah Nourbakhsh, professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, argues that robots are not just wondrous machines, but a new species that bridges the material and digital worlds. The ramifications for society are both good and bad, he says, and people need to start thinking about that.

In the book, published by MIT Press, Nourbakhsh contemplates what might happen in the not-so-distant future as robots become both ubiquitous and highly capable. Some robots no doubt will display annoying behaviors — what he calls “robot smog.” Robots, in turn, will bring out the worst in some people, who will see robots as targets for bullying and other abuse. Robots will serve as physical avatars, enabling people to interact simultaneously with others in farflung locations and circumstances. They may even enable people to assume new and different forms. Robots may well change perceptions of what it means to be human.