Each one of these videos from Boston Dynamics is a little bit cooler and a little bit (or a lot) more scary than the last.
Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
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Re: Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
#62I can't wait for weapons to be attached to this thing so it can be used against us in the future. Imagine the part where it was spinning, but instead with a firing automatic weapon. What prevents democracy from collapsing when a certain technical elite control the most powerful autonomous weapons and keep tabs on everyone's daily lives?
> used against us
Is that us the US by any chance? Because if these things ever become war machines I doubt the US will be second to anybody in using them.
Re: Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
#63Now if it just yelled "I'm free!" during that last jump :-)
More seriously, this is a very agile robot I am very sure I would never want to be in the same room with it when it was being tested. That said, the 100 lb basket it a bit disappointing. I was thinking "Ok this could be an offload/onload robot for freight" but maybe not. It is remarkably quiet which is something the original Bigdog discovered really put the damper on its threat ability.
But if Amazon used it in warehouses? Probably more than they need for that activity.
Re: Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
#64Has boston dynamics put these things to some real usage? They 've been showing impressive videos for 7, 8 years?
Unfortunately there is no practical application for them. They're incredibly capable, but they're also expensive, fragile, and difficult to maintain. This is, in a nutshell, why Google decided not to hold on to the company - no consumer market whatsoever.
I spent five years in software for Amazon's fulfillment centers. Let me assure you, there is a market for this sort of robotics.
I can think of a few jobs currently handled by humans in the FCs where this robot in particular could do the entire job. Lots of kinks to work out I'm sure but that's what the software team is there for.
Google would probably never sell to their biggest competitor at a reasonable price though. Plus, Amazon already has a robotics company in Boston (Kiva).
Re: Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
#65This is really cool tech, but given the current political state, I can't help but worry about a powerful army of robots -- presumably with weapons attached -- being put into the hands of a leader we might consider to have "unreliable" judgement. I wonder: if a country can deploy an army of robots to achieve its military ends, how does that play out in the long run? Does this mean future wars will just be "our" droids…
Even if the current policital leadership was someone you considered reliable and trustworthy, you should still be worried, because four or eight years from now someone you don't trust could be in control.
Re: Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
#66Has boston dynamics put these things to some real usage? They 've been showing impressive videos for 7, 8 years?
Presumably they might be learning some really cool stuff building these prototypes that could be used for something more commercial, or licensed.
Re: Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
#67News from the future: Man in a wheelchair beats everyone in a street fight.
I think at some point we're going to have to have another uncomfortable conversation about whether cybernetically enhanced (say ex amputees) humans should be allowed to compete in sports where their new physiology is giving them a distinct advantage. The same way right now we're stuck between biology and political correctness when talking about ex-male MMA or wrestling competitors dominating in the women's side of th…
> The same way right now we're stuck between biology and political correctness when talking about ex-male MMA or wrestling competitors dominating in the women's side of the sport when most of their physical development happened before hormone therapy and they end up with a distinctly more powerful physique.
I happen to be friends with a woman who is in an adult roller derby league. There is a transgender woman (previously a man) who pretty much dominates the league, and is clearly a faster skater than the other women. I'm always wondering how the other women feel about that, because as you say, there is the force of political correctness that stops anyone from outright saying anything about it. But it's clearly an unfair advantage for the transgendered person.
Re: Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
#68I'd like to see it fall and recover. These videos just aren't what they used to be since they stopped kicking them robots.
Handle looks like it can kick back.
Re: Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
#69I can't wait for weapons to be attached to this thing so it can be used against us in the future. Imagine the part where it was spinning, but instead with a firing automatic weapon. What prevents democracy from collapsing when a certain technical elite control the most powerful autonomous weapons and keep tabs on everyone's daily lives?
Wait until robot personhood makes disabling one of these things equivalent to murder, then we're in real trouble.
Citizens United (corporate personhood) already has laid the groundwork for that. If a corporation has the same rights as a person and an ai is a representative of said corporation, the ai would be protected under the corporate personhood umbrella.
Re: Introducing Handle – Boston Dynamics [video]
#70I can't wait for weapons to be attached to this thing so it can be used against us in the future. Imagine the part where it was spinning, but instead with a firing automatic weapon. What prevents democracy from collapsing when a certain technical elite control the most powerful autonomous weapons and keep tabs on everyone's daily lives?
Chances are, you don't live in a democracy anyway. Most "western" world is either a representative republic or the same mixed with a monarchy.
Switzerland is the only country that gets close to a democracy - they let their citizens vote on many issues.