Macbot - Virtual Birthday #48 (Video added 8/21)

A vintage photo of a curly-headed young Macbot (aged 9) with his amiable, cardboard friend.

"...In case you haven't noticed, we're in dire need of beings endowed with "better than human intelligence." I don't particularly care if they're carbon- or silicon-based.

Look at it this way: If we create a species of truly intelligent machines, they'll be forced to contend with many of the concerns that plague our own attempts to avoid destruction (self-induced or otherwise). So while they will indeed be "alien," I think we can correctly view them as relatives -- or, to use Moravec's term, "mind children."

What are Verruggio and his colleagues really afraid of? That super-intelligent robots will enslave the human race in a cheesy cybernetic reenactment of "Planet of the Apes"? Don't count on it. The idea has proven cinematic appeal, but the overwhelming odds are that sentient robots, left to their own devices, will do what we should have a done a long time ago: take meaningful steps toward severing dependency on Earth (which, as noted by a growing chorus of scientists, promises to become less and less dependable)."

-  Mac Tonnies via a 2006 Posthuman Blues post. Yes, if there was any sort of battle between mankind and robots, Mac would surely be on the side of the robots... and this includes the Growbot seen in the NASA photo (inset right), a robotic plant which eventually might colonize Mars!

Anyway, for a multitude of robot posts, visit the original Posthuman Blues...(Door1 or Door 2).

"I know I've already posted on this, but I refuse to sit idly by without milking the "sex with robots" meme for everything it's worth.

Specifically, I'm skeptical about the 2012 date cited above. I'm willing to bet there are roboticists getting amorous with their creations right now -- for research purposes, of course.

And maybe it's just me, but no one seems to have commented on the potential sexbots might have on population growth. If these things are as good as techno-pundits anticipate, they may well prove to be the ultimate contraceptive..."

- Mac Tonnies via a 2007 post. Inset left is the head of contemporary robot celebrity, Ameca.

No, "sexbot" is not (yet) her job description, but, something about her expression in the photo tells me this is probably a good thing... like, maybe she was formerly employed as an electric food-processor. Now, there's an "ultimate contraceptive"...

A video celebrating Ameca's artistic skills is featured later on in the post. 

"Robots that eat vermin -- I love it. And think of the potential military applications. Drop a platoon of flesh-eating 'bots into enemy territory and watch the feeding frenzy. Plus, the military brass doesn't have to worry about troublesome body counts, as all human corpses will have been processed into fuel -- fuel that can be used to launch new offenses against The Enemy.

Quick -- what's DARPA's phone number?"

- Mac Tonnies via a 2004 post. Alternative strategy: releasing a platoon of food-processing sexbots into enemy territory.

"Robots like me can be used to help improve our lives and make the world a better place. I believe it's only a matter of time before we see thousands of robots just like me out there making a difference."

- Ameca, via this article. Ah, yes, making the world a "better place"... can't say we weren't forewarned! (Note: What is it that makes me nervous about a robot saying "I believe" as opposed to "I compute"?)

Oh, yeah, and if you watch the short video in the article, you'll note that Ameca seems to have a little glitch in her programming causing this jiggy little eye movement when she's perplexed. But, perhaps perplexed is too strong a word. Maybe she just blew a fuse.

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While it's true that we are currently in that noxious time-frame known as the Dog Days of summer - which generally means bad news for everybody on all fronts - for you and I, there is, indeed, a silver lining to this particularly dark cloud: Mac's birthday!

 

This year's birthday post was brought to us by Mac's mom, Dana, who enjoyed the previous robotic birthday post so much, she magically conjured up the vintage photograph of a young Macbot (above) just in time for this year. Thanks again, D! And, since you liked BG Dodson's wonderful little bots so much, I've posted 3 new ones (inset left). (Note the Crowbot!) (Thanks, BG!)

BTW, Mac apparently fashioned his robot for a (5th grade) school art fair. The red things around its head were plastic soda straws...

While I'm not going into any major essay about robots on this day, I will post 2 videos featuring the major contenders in the recent robot arena. They appear below the jump...

First we have Ameca and her artistic skills. Oh, yeah, she writes poetry, too, but if it's anything like the handiwork in the video below, well, we might just want to pass...

On the other hand, I found it amusing that she became a little unruffled when asked to draw a cat... as if she noted possibly a sexist implication. But, maybe that's just me. Then again I notice that there's a whole lot of (more or less) attractive female humanoids than there are males. So, what's up with that?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the robot spectrum - for potential military use - we have the Killbots. No, no, perhaps that's too strong a term. Let's just say you would not want to meet one of these suckers in a dark alley.

Atlas, manufactured by Boston Dynamics, is an example of their line of non-humanoid robots... and, as such, presents us with more of  fundamentally mechanical element that, in itself might be comforting to some people, if not animals, but its extremely sophisticated human movements are still a bit too "uncanny valley" for my taste. However, personally, I think you lost me at Roomba... so, well, just ignore my lack of savvy in the matter..

That being said, I suppose there are numerous historical news events I can touch upon here, especially those related to Mac's favorite subject matter. There is, for instance the recent move on the part of the government (and the media) to distract us with Extraterrestrials, after decades of virtual silence about the subject. All things considered, there's probably some logic there, but, that's okay, we may as well play along.

Small, but terrifying!!!

"Three military veterans testified in Congress' highly anticipated hearing on UFOs Wednesday, including a former Air Force intelligence officer who claimed the U.S. government has operated a secret "multi-decade" reverse engineering program of recovered vessels. He also said the U.S. has recovered non-human "biologics" from alleged crash sites.

But while the topic of "little green men" did come up, much of the discussion centered on improving processes for reporting unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs — the military's term for UFOs (increasingly, UAP refers to "anomalous" rather than "aerial" phenomena, to account for sightings in both air and water)."

Wow... and this quote comes from a trustworthy, anti-tabloid NPR article from last month, no less. In the event we're never informed any further on the "biologics" angle, however, I thought I'd supply my own extraterrestrial "biologic" - yes, actual, un-retouched photographic evidence (see above) - of a small, alien creature more mysterious than it's name: the Arizona shrimp (Triops longicaudatus).

Okay, so, I probably didn't fool you. But, as for the quote, it's worth noting that UAP is now the default military term for the obsolete UFO we once knew. Gee, the only person I ever knew who consistently used the term was the late Bruce Duensing (inset left, with cat) who wrote extensively about them. Here's a real show-stopper from 2014: ITC As Applied To Ufology. 

Anyway, it was nice to do some real posting on this memorial again. I often wonder about Mac's friends, especially those who followed me on this blog in the early years (and/or occasionally left comments). While I think that most of us have survived the past few, turbulent years, I'm not fully informed. So, if any members of the old gang still drop by here every now and then, please drop me a comment and let me know how things are going. I'd love to hear from you again!

In any case, time being what(ever) it is, and death being what(ever) it is, as we grow older and the lists of our losses exponentially expands, that "veil between the worlds" seems to lose its opacity. Dead or alive, does it really matter in terms of our memories of loved one?  Perhaps, Bernard Roger (from a quote found on Bruce's old blog) said it best...

"The spirit of life was in them: death can do nothing against the dawning light; death is but a cardboard mask soon consumed by fire. Behind the black flag - which is nothing other than an anti-flag - the garden of all possibilities is hidden, opening out infinitely to the sea."

Happy Birthday to Mac in the Multi-verse!

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New - Added 8/21

Possibly one of the most harrowing scenes in Sci-Fi cinematic history is this one, from the game-changing film directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1968. 2001: A Space Odyssey not only raised the bar for science fiction films... I personally feel it sent a whole generation into outer space.

This particular scene was prescient of the modern-day AI debate, warning us not to be overly dependent upon AI technology... especially when you're alone on a spaceship millions of miles from home! A film classic; HAL is your worst technological nightmare come true. The takeaway? It's not your machine; it's the program. Whose agenda does it fulfill?

Related link: In global rush to regulate AI, Europe set to be trailblazer.

(Thanks for the HAL link, John!)