标签: Robopocalypse

Well, seldom does a day go by that I don't get to see or hear something that makes me say "Wow, what an interesting idea..." For example, I just received the following email from a reader who prefers to remain anonymous (unless you have a lot of money and wish to translate this into a business opportunity, in which case the reader says that you can contact him through me). Anyway, this message was as follows: Hi Max, I have a wacky idea for a business model I want to get out in the open before someone patents it: Rentable Avatars! Here's how it works: Suppose I want to attend a seminar in Nottingham. My boss won't spring for airfare or hotel, so I get online to an agency in Nottingham who, for say 175 GBP a day, will rent me an avatar. On the appointed day, they deliver the avatar (or send it in a taxi) to the conference venue, whereupon it will link itself to the local WiFi and connect to my computer, so I can "occupy" it remotely and attend the classes. It could display a simulated face resembling mine, and have the ability to "raise a hand" either figuratively or literally. At night it would be parked in a restricted area (maybe getting itself a charge) so I couldn't wander around with it. No cost for travel, hotel, or meals. I've already seen these things—basically a camera, mike, speaker, and video screen on a pole with wheels. This would have to be a bit more sophisticated. Because of delays and dropouts in communications, it would have to have enough autonomy to: * Avoid bumping into people, walls, or other objects * Avoid falling down stairs or tripping over rugs, etc. * Navigate corridors and possibly elevators based on instructions. * Get help (verbal directions?) if it is lost and can't communicate. * Record what goes on in my absence for playback when the communication resumes. Given Google's work with autonomous cars, and Apple's with Siri, I wouldn't expect this to be a problem. A backup 3/4G link in case there isn't WiFi would be nice. Some limited manipulative ability might be useful. The deluxe model could have legs or other means to traverse stairs or rough terrain, so it could be used for inspection and repair jobs. We already have a lot of good videoconferencing systems, but sometimes you need more mobility or interactivity than those allow. This would allow me to look at what I want, talk to who I want, and maybe even buy someone a beer. I hereby release this method under the GNU General Public Licens ('licence' when noun)e, Version 3. There's probably a better form of licens ('licence' when noun)e – if I find one I'll use it instead. If you want to print this idea or pass it along to someone who might try to implement it, that would be great. Actually, this is a pretty good idea when you come to think about it. I can imagine sitting in the comfort of my office wearing a virtual headset seeing what my avatar sees as it wanders around the Design Automation Conference (DAC), for example. One day I could be attending a conference in America, the next day a seminar in Germany, and the next a trade show in Japan. Note that this reader is proposing a business idea – he's not suggesting that it's up to him to create the underlying technology. This is a good thing, because the technology itself is almost here. Check out This article that discussed the Telesar V robot avatar that is being developed by the folks at Keio University in Tokyo, and here's an associated video . This is similar in concept to the Anybots QB Telepresence Robot (as shown in this video ) that is already shipping. On the one hand, the Telesar V appears to be much more sophisticated; on the other hand, the Anybots QB Telepresence Robot looks to be a lot of fun and is much more affordable (a snip at only $15,000). Of course this reminds me of that really funny video Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? . Last but certainly not least, do I really have to remind you that everyone laughed when I talked about the forthcoming Robot Apocalypse? (See my Review of Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson.) Well, all I can say is that we'll see who is still laughing when the powerful fingers of Telesar V's great-grandson-bot (remembering that robot generations are measured in a couple of years) closes around your scrawny neck (cue sound effects of mad cackling)...  

Now, I'm keeping a really cautious eye on my computerized toaster. That's after reading Robopocalypse, a hyper-realistic story by Daniel H. Wilson. I'm sure you remember the film The Terminator , which involved a cyborg assassin sent back in time from the year 2029 to 1984 to kill a lady called Sarah Connor. The underlying story was that, in the not-so-distant future, an artificial intelligence network called Skynet becomes self-aware and initiates a nuclear holocaust of mankind. Sarah's yet-unborn son John will rally the survivors and lead a resistance movement against Skynet and its army of machines. With the Resistance on the verge of victory, Skynet has sent a robot called a Terminator (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time to kill Sarah before John can be born, as a last-ditch effort to avert the formation of the Resistance. As an aside, when I first saw The Terminator it made me want to learn how to ride a motorcycle. Not that I want to actually own a motorcycle, you understand, but it struck me that if I were to be running down a street being chased by a homicidal robot and I came across a really powerful motorcycle with the keys in the ignition ... I would have to keep on running because I don't know how to ride one. Reading Robopocalypse has brought "Learning to ride a motorcycle" right back to the top of my personal "To Do" list. As another aside, The Terminator was released in 1984, which is 28 years ago as I pen these words (where does the time go?). Did you know that it helped launch the film careers of James Cameron (who directed it) and Arnold Schwarzenegger? And did you also know that it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"? But we digress... the thing is that (putting the time-travelling aspects of The Terminator aside) when this film came out, as far as most people were concerned the thought of our creating a self-aware artificial intelligence like Skynet was... well, firmly in the realms of science fiction, shall we say. Now, after reading Robopocalypse, I'm not so sure. This book really is more than a little scary, if the truth be told. The author, Daniel H. Wilson, earned a Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, and he's made quite a name for himself with a number of books such as A Boy and His Bot (for younger readers) and How to Survive a Robot Uprising (which I just added to my "Wish List" on Amazon.com). Robopocalypse actually begins 20 minutes after the end of the war, when a team of humans discover a cybernetic data storage device that contains a documentary-type record of the war from the robots' point of view. There are many really good things about this book, not the least that the author really knows what he's talking about and the dozens of unique robots that spy, stalk, and fight through the Robopocalypse are grounded in existing robotic research. Also, the human characters in the book are very well observed, which makes you really identify with them and think to yourself "What would I do in that situation?" (In my case, the answer may well be to scream like a schoolgirlÿ– not that this would help, but it would make me feel better.) In many ways Robopocalypse is reminiscent of the sort of books Michael Crichton used to write, like the Andromeda Strain and The Terminal Man, which means the reader is in for a gripping time (both of these books have "aged", but they were "state-of-the-art" at the time and they are still well worth reading). As yet another aside, Daniel (the author of Robopocalypse ) really reminds me of the tall, thin, gawky super-genius theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper in the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory . So, just how far-fetched is the Robopocalypse scenario? Well, it all depends on who you talk to. In his book The Singularity is Near, futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts that we will achieve the equivalent of a single human-level artificial intelligence by around 2020; also that by around 2045 the sum total of robotic intelligence will exceed that of the combined intelligence of every human on the planet (estimated to be close to 9 billion by around 2045). But will these artificial intelligences be self-aware to the level that they might decide humans are a threat and determine to remove us from the picture? In his Sceptic column in the January 2012 issue of Scientific American , Michael Shermer's prediction for the Singularity is that "We are 10 years away... and always will be." Of course Michael is sceptical about everything (grin). Just the other day, literally hours after I'd finished reading Robopocalypse , I turned on the television and found myself watching one of those "10 Ways the World Might End" type programs on the Discovery Channel. You can only imagine my surprise to discover that our being wiped out by self-aware artificial intelligences was rated about number six on the list... I believe that Robopocalypse is already being made into a Steven Spielberg film slated for 2013 release. I for one will be there for the opening. I will also be keeping a watchful eye on robotic developments, and I think it's safe to say that we will not be having any robot assistants in our house, let me tell you! In the meantime, I intend to read Daniel's How to Survive a Robot Uprising, which the blurb on Amazon describes as follows: How do you spot a robot mimicking a human? How do you recognise and then deactivate a rebel servant robot? How do you escape a murderous "smart" house, or evade a swarm of marauding robotic flies? In this dryly hilarious survival guide, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson teaches worried humans the keys to quashing a robot mutiny. From treating laser wounds to fooling face and speech recognition, besting robot logic to engaging in hand-to-pincer combat, How to Survive a Robot Uprising covers every possible doomsday scenario facing the newest endangered species: humans. And with its thorough overview of current robot prototypes—including giant walkers, insect, gecko, and snake robots—How to Survive a Robot Uprising is also a witty yet legitimate introduction to contemporary robotics. Full of cool illustrations, and referencing some of the most famous robots in pop-culture, How to Survive a Robot Uprising is a one-of-a-kind book that is sure to be a hit with all ages.