 |
They have done it again. Boston Dynamics just released another terrifying video of a bipedal robot.
Somebody really needs to tell the industrial robot designer the way to public hearts and minds in the new Gilded Age – and wider acceptance – is less Terminator and more cute and cuddly.
The truth is we’re OK with a lot of robots, which is good because the coming boom of prosperity and better living is going to feature millions of them.
Software based assistants made their debut on smartphones years ago and have recently migrated to appliances like the well-received Amazon Echo. The Zenbo by Asus has also been a big hit.
 |
| From software based assistants to robots that think |
The diminutive gizmo gets its smarts and a cherry disposition from software that learns over time. It has a body with an iPad-like monitor for a head, a chrome neck and a beach ball-sized torso with two large wheels. Zenbo looks like a robot version of E.T., The Extra Terrestrial. Image recognition software, a microphone and speaker system allow it to see, hear, talk and scoot around without being threatening. Zenbo, for lack of a better description, is cute.
Don’t dismiss the importance of cuteness. People are rightfully very threatened by robots. They perceive them as an existential threat.
Foxconn, the Chinese contractor best known for building iPhones, announced last year it was replacing 60,000 workers with robots. Amazon promised a modern and worker friendly environment when it purchased robotics firm Kiva Systems in 2012. Now the suitcase-sized robots zip along warehouse floors moving entire stacks of products while humans frantically pick items from their shelves to fulfill orders.
|
Tell your boss “I QUIT TODAY!” This free eBook by Jon Markman can make the difference between turning a $100,000 nest egg into a modest $176,000 … Or using the proprietary “Pivotal Point” strategy to make it EXPLODE into over $7 million … Enough to walk into your boss’ office, say “I quit!” and retire in luxury. CLICK HERE NOW to get your free copy of Pivotal Point Trading. |
| Internal Sponsorship |
And that brings us back to Boston Dynamics. Its latest robot is the evolution of its 160-pound robotic dog. As if the very idea of that was not terrifying enough, the company replaced its articulated rear feet with wheels. This allows the mechanical canine to carry heavy loads with a small footprint. It also allows it to move at very high rates of speed and to jump. And that is just the hardware.
|
Death rattle for Wall Street: Every dollar you have saved or invested is now at the mercy of a terrifying 100-year-old chart pattern. Here’s how to use the crisis it predicts to build not just one, but TWO massive fortunes in 2017: Read more here … |
| Internal Sponsorship |
All Boston Dynamics robots think. They come with AI software that allows them to reason and control their movement. Even the developing engineers believe this combination is “nightmare inducing”.
This is the opposite of Zenbo. The little semi-autonomous robot is a welcome helper in our increasingly stressful lives. It can read recipes, play interactive games with children and stay in touch with aging parents using voice commands.
|
This Weird Law Could TRIPLE Your 2016 Refund! This law is both INCREDIBLY lucrative and nearly impossible to find in the U.S. tax code. “In the know” taxpayers are adding as much as $12,900 to their refunds. Here’s what you need to know… |
| External Sponsorship |
At their core, modern robots are thin clients. The moving bits are just nondescript electric motors and injected plastic controlled natively by a relatively light processor. The brains of the robots are located in the cloud where bespoke algorithms and powerful computers help them learn.
That only adds to people’s worry.
Robots are a product of the New Gilded Age. There is no doubt. They’re coming in large numbers to homes, care facilities and factory floors.
Best wishes,
Jon Markman
{ 9 comments }
And what are we going to do for jobs and work?
And those that invest in these ventures are just as responsible as the manufacturers. Greed not concern for humans, is the primary motivator.
I think we should look at Japan and their success in promoting robots among the public at large. Markman’s comment in second paragraph urging “cute and cuddly” is right on. It reminds me of an adorable film along this line – “Hinokio ” – a Japanese film about an invalid boy who sends a robot to school under his control from home (like “Waldo” for you early SF fans) to represent him as an extension. The reactions of his school class and the dramatic story to follow can be appreciated by all ages. The film is available subtitled on DVD and online.
And, of course, robots are replacing humans, especially in jobs which require relatively little in the way of imagination or creativity. If schools were doing their job properly, they would be fostering such talents in students. If students cannot learn such skills, they are in BIG trouble. Rote learning is very good for machines, and a certain amount is good for humans, to allow them to cope with daily life, and as a base for creativity. Of course, if something happens to all that technology, most humans, dependent on the machines, will have little life expectancy.
Hi Jon……love all your comments and articles. They make us put on our own thinking
caps and get with the real world. I am keeping my antennas ready for your wise words.
Thank you
Not a fan of the mechanical creations. It’s disconcerting that 60,000 Chinese workers are being displaced. Some forms of “progress” seem dehumanizing when we live in a world that needs more “human” elements. Guess I’m a slow accepter or even resistant. I don’t like it.
The Cloud is the most vulnerable piece of this paradigm. There is probably plenty of redundancy so failures are probably not an issue. The big issue will be cyber crime and hacking and all that data is one big plum waiting to be picked. My guess is they have done little to protect the heart of the beast. Networking, both wired and wireless is no doubt the next biggest area for concern. There is no doubt a rush to build more and more upon the infrastructure( cloud and connectivity) and being enamored with the whole concept will only exacerbate things as that pesky concept of security will be pushed aside for the adrenaline rush of functionality. We’ve done a horrible job with Gov’t systems, financial systems, social systems, medical systems, the power industry, etc, etc. All you have to do is remember all the news stories of hacked information or stolen identities and you can see where we’re heading. I hope architects and designers change their stripes so they don’t ruin a good thing.
The media is being paid to promote and inundate society with news about AI & robots so that we accept everything as a given fact. There is no good use for driver-less cars but they keep telling us that there will be no more accidents, mistakes etc and that everyone in the world including old people, disabled people will be able to go any where they want. Amazon Echo is shown on TV but what purpose does it serve? Can’t one just look out the window to see the weather or turn on the light switch? “Echo, What is the capital of California?” Anyone with a low level of education would know it is Sacramento. If what they are saying about technology is true, computers would replace politicians because the majority of them world wide have no idea what they are doing.
When all is said and done, robots can only be good if we consider all the contradictions to which human intelligence can more or less indirectly need : the untolerable coexistence of extreme wealthiness and extremepoverty, scientific research leading both to goon treatments and to lethal poisons, coexistence of charity and terrorism…I stop, just want to say good luck.