WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please donate to keep ReaderRant online to serve political discussion and its members. (Blue Ridge Photography pays the bills for RR).
Current Topics
Trump 2.0
by rporter314 - 03/15/25 12:19 AM
2024 Election Forum
by rporter314 - 03/11/25 11:16 PM
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 6 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Agnostic Politico, Jems, robertjohn, BlackCat13th, ruggedman
6,305 Registered Users
Popular Topics(Views)
10,260,930 my own book page
5,051,286 We shall overcome
4,250,778 Campaign 2016
3,856,350 Trump's Trumpet
3,055,543 3 word story game
Top Posters
pdx rick 47,430
Scoutgal 27,583
Phil Hoskins 21,134
Greger 19,831
Towanda 19,391
Top Likes Received (30 Days)
Irked 1
Forum Statistics
Forums59
Topics17,128
Posts314,541
Members6,305
Most Online294
Dec 6th, 2017
Today's Birthdays
There are no members with birthdays on this day.
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
Page 3 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707
J
veteran
OP Offline
veteran
J
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707

Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 12,004
Likes: 133
L
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
L
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 12,004
Likes: 133
Quote
...robotics...
Anomalous robot facial expressions.

Is the science of the artifacts of robot procreation called robotots?


You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.
R. Buckminster Fuller
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707
J
veteran
OP Offline
veteran
J
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707
Yes. Many moons ago as a young'in, I remember reading some short sci-fi story about some human astronaut/space explore landing/returning on/to some planet (possibly a future earth)where the machines/robots had taken over. A native (robot hunter gather)had discovered him and his colleague, and promptly proceeded to grab his colleague and dismember him, much as a kid would pull an insect apart. It then put him in his robot backpack and brought him home, possibly as a pet,item of interest, or food. At any rate, our intrepid voyager chronicled what followed after arriving at the robot's home, including an interaction between the robot and his wife where there was some kind of exchange of electricity. I remember our protagonist described it as "sex." If their intercourse produced anything (and why not, it is sci-fi),it would undoubtedly and undeniably be called a robotot.

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 12,129
Likes: 257
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 12,129
Likes: 257
The key to getting people to let your expression-recognition software use their PC camera, is to make that into a service that delivers something they want.

Right off the top of my head, I am remembering a story that included an interactive CGI porn website that received some kind of feedback from subscribers and gradually mutated the characters and acts depicted to maximize their interest. In the story, the young naïve protagonist was cut off from the web for a couple of months (for the unwilling adventure central to the plot). When he got back online, he was completely repulsed by the current porn because he had missed out on the evolution.

But that just shows the problem with their technology: They didn't have individual feedback from each subscriber. If the facial-expression recognition company just offered free self-mutating CGI porn, they would get millions of voluntary subscribers. Then they could mine the expression data they received during the time subscribers were looking at non-porn webpages and market that to advertisers, etc.

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 12,129
Likes: 257
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 12,129
Likes: 257
We need to keep in mind that robots (even the most sophisticated) are still objects, not people (or even corporations smile ): They belong to somebody who presumably programs them to do something they want done. So they are not really all that different from using a washing machine, as opposed to using the services of a person you hire or buy to wash your clothes.

In fact, the comparison is quite apt: The washing machine does a good job, as long as you fetch the dirty clothes, sort them into the right groups, remove the clean clothes, dry them, maybe iron them, move them to the right closets or drawers, etc. All things that a laundry-servant would do for you.

Same thing with every other appliance in the home, assembly robot in a car factory, etc. The closest thing to a robot that actually does the entire job is probably one of those robot vacuum cleaners that can actually go connect themselves to their charger when they are finished. Still can't empty their dirtbag and take that out to the garbage chute, but they do provide endless entertainment for some cats who have learned to use them for canine ambush.

The Artificial Intelligence problem is a VERY big one. I suspect we will have human brains walking around in robot bodies long before we have AIs that are anywhere near as competent. Unless we manage to find a connection to some sort of interstellar information network and find a free (AKA malware) download. (See Accelerando by Charles Stross)

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707
J
veteran
OP Offline
veteran
J
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707
Originally Posted by pondering_it_all
The Artificial Intelligence problem is a VERY big one. I suspect we will have human brains walking around in robot bodies long before we have AIs that are anywhere near as competent. Unless we manage to find a connection to some sort of interstellar information network and find a free (AKA malware) download. (See Accelerando by Charles Stross)
I think that you're right. It will be interesting to see what sort of intelligence evolves if computers ever do become self-aware/conscious. The scene towards the end of Spielberg's film, A.I.was memorable when the computers evolved into some kind of conscious life form and referred to the boy robot as a machine. If you haven't seen Elysium already, you may want to check it out.

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 12,129
Likes: 257
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 12,129
Likes: 257
I like Chuck Lorre's take on the future:
Quote
Because TV shows can linger in syndication for many, many years, there's an excellent chance that as you are reading this, I will be busy decomposing in a Jewish cemetery. Needless to say, I hope that's not the case, and I have made the following four-part plan to avoid it. Step one: maintain a sensible diet, get plenty of rest and exercise, avoid actor-induced stress. Step two: use all my financial resources to purchase replacement body parts as soon as the originals begin to sputter. Step three: continue to swap out organs until the arrival of the Singularity, whereupon I will discard my Bondo body and upload my psyche into the cloud. Step four: be a mischievous cyber-ghost who zooms around the internet until technology allows me to download myself into a robot body with working genitals, tastebuds, guitar chops, x-ray vision and the ability to fly, live under water and in outer space. At which point, having made myself essentially immortal and indestructible, I will spend eternity exploring the universe and playing with my titanium penis.
In other words, robotic research's ultimate goal is that WE become the "robots".

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707
J
veteran
OP Offline
veteran
J
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707
Before then, however, the world will have to deal with the economic, social, and political problems resulting from the robots going on-line and replacing workers within the next two decades. The problem is on the horizon and you don't need binoculars to see it. These robots are not going to need that many human helpers, adding to an increased population of chronically unemployed. I believe that the governments- at least in the remaining "free-world"- will tax the robots- or at least their owners- in an attempt to compensate for the revenue lost for formerly employed.

Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 12,004
Likes: 133
L
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
L
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 12,004
Likes: 133
Perhaps I was too obtuse in presenting the point about where will the money come from to buy the production from the robots?

There is a calculation, in this scenario, of diminishing returns - the robots replace workers who then have no money to participate in the economy and so the market for goods and services declines. It doesn't matter how cheaply those goods can be produced if not enough people can afford to buy them.

Unless there is some more artificial means of redistributing wealth besides through wages, so that the goods and services provided robotically can be paid for, then the economy will collapse along with the demand for robots.

It's another strange pursuit of technology for no sane purpose.

You humans are an odd bunch...


You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.
R. Buckminster Fuller
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707
J
veteran
OP Offline
veteran
J
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,707
You weren't obtuse at all. Not only the question arises how will people be able to afford the stuff, but also how will government make up tax revenue lost from the formerly employed? I asked the same questions myself, when the government/corporations with the help of Congress began sending all the jobs overseas. The introduction of robots will just increase the problems. If the recent Christmas retail sales and port shipping activity are any indication, the country's economy is in for a world of hurt. The only thing that we export any more is what's left of our middle class.

Page 3 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5