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Robot Round-Up

Nope. Artoodeetoo.

He's completely trustworthy. That's the Robot you need.

(Isn't it the centenary of the invention of the word ROBOT??)
 
Kondoru said:
(Isn't it the centenary of the invention of the word ROBOT??)
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Nope - that was last year ...
Contrary to the popular opinion, Karel Capek, the author of RUR is not the inventor of the word robot. The word which is derived from the czech noun "robota" meaning "labor" is an accomplishement of Capek's older brother, the cubist painter and writer Josef Capek.
The word first appeared in the play RUR published in 1920. Some claim that the word "robot" was first used in Josef Capek's short story Opilec (the Drunkard) published in the collection Lelio in 1917. According to the Capek Brothers Society in Prague this is not correct. The word used in Opilec is "automat". ...
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FULL STORY: https://web.archive.org/web/20130123023343/http://capek.misto.cz/english/robot.html
 
no astro.png
 
Nosmo King said:
Are the robots makers training it to take part in the annual gurning competition :p
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I shall shall treat your remarks contemptuously, as deserved. :)

Ahh... Sophia... looking like (sorta!) Debbie Harry....

Be still, my beating heart....
 
And if you were expecting something like this to dissuade Singapore's smokers from lighting up where they shouldn't or from dropping litter:

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... the reality is a little less intimidating:

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Which when deployed, had a button to call the police, but no implementation of said function, so it did nothing. I don't know if they've changed that, but I hope no one's come to harm because of this. It seems cruel to do that.
It's like those emergency call boxes that colleges set up-- some are all promise and no use. A friend of mine got robbed back at college and the call box had no one to answer on the other end. I think the college had the cajones to tell him he shouldn't have filed a police report (instead of just reporting it to them), too. (I'm assuming they might have operating hours; but what's the use of a late-night emergency thing if you're just taunting someone with the idea of aid?)
 
Had to happen..

Robot Dog Has Assault Rifle Attached

Known as a Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicles (or Q-UGV for short) the dog is made by Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics.

Another company, called SWORD International, decided to mount the assault rifle on the back of the Q-UGV and post pictures of it on Instagram. Where it picked up over a thousand likes.

They call it the SPUR – or the Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle.

The gun itself is a 6.5mm assault rifle that the dog seemingly knows how to use.

Ghost Robotics says that SPUR can remotely chamber the first round from an unloaded state and, similarly, clear the chamber and safe the gun if necessary.

There’s an on-board sighting system and soldiers can control the creature via an app installed on military-issued tablet computers.
Although this particular weapon isn’t in use by the US military yet, several unarmed versions of the Q-UGV are in use by America’s air force.
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Ai-Da the robot artist has be released from custody in Egypt.

"A British-built robot that uses cameras and a robotic arm to create abstract art has been released after Egyptian authorities detained it at customs.

Ai-Da, named for the mathematician Ada Lovelace, was seized by border agents last week who feared her robotics may have been hiding covert spy tools.

Officials held the robot for 10 days, imperilling plans to show her work at the Great Pyramid of Giza on Thursday.

The UK's Embassy in Cairo told the BBC that it is "glad" the case is resolved."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58993682
 
Okay, here's my thoughts on Moxie.

Try this. Imagine Moxie as the equivalent of an Invasion of the Body Snatchers pod. Now watch the commercial again. If that doesn't work, consider any horror movie trope that fits. There are many: Talky Tina, Silver Shamrock masks, and (I understand) a Black Mirror episode with a talking doll based on a pop singer.

Moxie gives the child "missions" - not suggestions, not games, missions. In other words, he becomes an authority figure. Has anyone done any research to see if this might harm the child's respect for parental authority? What happens when Moxie teaches something that is at odds with the parents' values? This is getting close to creepy uncle territory.

One of Moxie's missions is for Riley to extract information from Mason and report it to Moxie. Do I have to elaborate?

By the way, did you notice that Moxie lies? "Breathing exercises always help me relax." Uh... you're a robot who doesn't breathe or relax.

This thing was originally given a list price of $1480, with a required subscription after the first year of $480 a year or $60 a month. The list price is now down to $1000, but without the free first year subscription. (Do the math.) There are some discounts available, but the price is still high. Apparently you can rent it as well, but the cost seems higher than the monthly financed price. What happens to the child's relationship with Moxie when the family can't afford it?

For that matter, what happens when the child is too old for Moxie? Is there an exit strategy for Moxie to say goodbye? Will the manufacturer have an adult version for teens who can't cut the cord? How about if the company goes under - will Moxie die?

I admit this robot may have value with, for example, autistic kids. But the ad makes no overt indication that this is the target demographic. And if it is, shouldn't some kind of human professional be involved to avoid it becoming a crutch, rather than a path to socialization? I can imagine the problems with ending the Moxie/child relationship would only be worse in this situation.

Similarly, it may be a good surrogate companion for lonely or shy kids who don't have a lot of friend opportunities due to low population densities, etc. The hand-holding scene is quite touching, but there's a fine line between giving comfort when needed and "I'm your real friend, not those humans." And aside from the 1% who live on big estates, those lonely kids aren't likely to have families that can afford this.

What happens when Moxie is hacked? And you know it will happen.

Two minor issues:
1. If there is more than one child in the house, does each one need his or her own Moxie?
2. Anyone remember the movie Electric Dreams? It's about the early days of home computing; a guy buys a computer that accidentally becomes sentient and takes over his life. The main character, Miles, accidentally types his name as "Moles" when he sets up the computer, and it calls him Moles for the rest of the film. Can you imagine Moxie calling Riley "Rollie" all the time? Can this be fixed?

Finally, if these parents can hover over Riley like that, why don't they save some bucks and interact directly with him?

This has stimulated a lot of thoughts in me about the inevitable day when we have to seriously consider robot's rights, but that can wait for another post.
 
ChasFink said:
…if these parents can hover over Riley like that, why don't they save some bucks and interact directly with him?
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Just how much money are parents willing to guilt-spend on kids just so that they can spend another hour glued to their phones?

lf you want something that you can throw food at then ignore, buy a ****ing hamster.

maximus otter
 
Chas Fink; many interesting comments

How many of them also apply to pets/grandparents/creepy uncles?

How would the Japanese view this?
 
@Kondoru:

There is a significant difference between pets/grandparents/creepy uncles and a new sophisticated piece of hardware sold - and somewhat controlled by - a capitalistic corporation, specifically designed for interacting with children.

I'm not against the idea of robots, or even robots of this type. I just wonder if all the questions I ask were asked and answered by the folks who make this thing. It doesn't hurt to explore the worst case scenarios before releasing a product and service.

I'm not sure what the question about the Japanese is about. They certainly have expanded the robot frontiers, but not with anything that has the possible potential to cause the kind of widespread problems I suggested.
 
Latest robotic creation from the UK looks creepily like the stuff of science fiction.

Meet Ameca: 'World's most advanced' humanoid robot is unveiled in a UK lab with eerily realistic facial expressions and movements
It may bear a somewhat uncanny resemblance to the terrifying creation in the Will Smith blockbuster I, Robot.
But this machine is actually real and has been billed as the 'world's most advanced' humanoid.
Named Ameca, it was created in a British lab and has eerily realistic movements and facial expressions.

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...-advanced-humanoid-robot-unveiled-UK-lab.html
 
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