Sun 4 May 2008
You Have 20 Seconds to Comply
Posted by anaglyph under Gadgets, Geek, Hmmm..., In The News, Robots, Stupidity, Technology
[7] Comments
Popular Mechanics website recently carried an article about the ‘fragility’ of the nascent robotics industry and the unlikeliness that we’ll be seeing robots making our martinis anytime soon. Colin Angle, the CEO of iRobot (a company that specializes in ‘home robotics’*) said in his keynote address at the RoboBusiness conference in Pittsburgh last month that ‘the killer app that will drive the industry hasn’t yet emerged‘.
When he says ‘killer app’ I don’t think he’s talking about the heavily armed SWORDS† robots that the US military deployed in Iraq in 2007 and then immediately undeployed when the robotic gun ‘started moving when it was not intended to move‘… Before it could shoot when it was not intended to shoot, one speculates.
You all know my thoughts on robots. I’m thinking that we still have a ways to go even with trusting them to dust the china before we start handing out the AK47s. Not that the US Military (nor indeed the voting majority of the democracy that is the United States of America) seems to require much in the way of actual intelligence (artificial or otherwise) in that respect.
___________________________________________________________________________
*When they say home robotics, they evidently mean vacuum cleaners at this point in time…
†Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection System. Well whaddya want? It’s the military – they’re not known for their literary acumen.
Image swiped from the unmatchably geek-cool Modern Mechanix. Go there now and marvel at the treasures.
___________________________________________________________________________
I would threaten with violence anyone that agreed with me, but the US is full of retards.
Unfortunately, so is every other country.
i cannot fully express the feeling of dread I felt the first time I saw the message traffic about a drone firing a hellfire missile and killing a human being.
War has always been immoral. Now it’s just wrong.
There is some talk that Iron Man style armor will be soon available
No robot can replace what a human can do. I can see the value of robots replacing people when in harms way, but I have serious issues with peoples jobs being outsourced to machines. Kinda like shooting ourself in the foot.
Maybe we’d be better off with Multivac running the government. It certainly wouldn’t have invaded Iraq.
I haven’t thought of Multivac for years! “The Last Question” was one of my favourite stories ever when I was young – still is I guess. I always found it so sad. Multivac finally succeeding with no-one to tell.
If a tree falls in a forest….
Ned Kelly in the 25th and 1/2 Century!
Casey: I’ve just finished working on a documentary about General Sir John Monash, who was an influential General of the Australian Forces in WW1. The filmmakers had sourced some extraordinary real footage of infantry going ‘over the top’ in the trenches, only to be mown down by hails of enemy bullets. The scenes are grim and depressing. One of the telling facts that the film reveals is that when the Australian Government attempted to introduce conscription (because all the fine young volunteers were being slaughtered) it was vastly unpopular. A referendum held to decide the matter came out overwhelmingly against – the principle negative numbers being held by soldiers who had returned from the massacre in Europe and felt it was appalling that men should be compelled into such a situation against their wishes. No qualms about that kind of thing nowadays of course.
My opinion is that we should turn the warfare over to the robots entirely. Let them duke it out (or perhaps ‘nuke it out’) on some piece of suitably barren wasteland until the last remaining piece of shambling metalwork heralds the winner. That way everyone can have their tactical war with lots of explosions and fireworks and none of the rest of us get hurt…
scroob: Hey, long time no see! Yes, I was aware that iRobot made other things aside from vacuum cleaners. But their principle domestic line is vacs and it seems approporiate – there’s not a lot that can go horribly wrong with a robot that is just sucking up some dust. It’s when they start spending that little bit extra time polishing the gun cabinet that I start getting nervous.
Malach: Ooh. Where do I order?
MI: Yes but you miss the point: why shoot yourself in the foot when you can get a robot to do it for you?
Colonel: Multivac? Is that like a giant all-purpose vacuum cleaner? Hard to know how it could suck much more than the government you already have…
Pil: If a tree falls in the forest a robot can make a recording of it for you and bring it back to play on your iPod. Thereby solving a centuries-old philosophical conundrum. Hail the Rise of the Robots!
Jam: Yeah, they still had a lot of work to do on the ‘inspiring of fear’ aspect.
Atlas: Stay out of trouble!
Doc: Some kind of Intergalactic Sheriff for sure.