"Living robot" Escapes Lab, Makes It To...Parking Lot 698
jerkychew writes "This is either really cool or really scary, depending on how you look at it. According to this article, scientists in England have been experimenting with so-called 'living robots' that think and act for themselves. During an exercise that pitted the machines against each other in battle, one of the machines, named Gaak, was taken out of the competition and left alone for fifteen minutes. When the scientist returned to retrieve Gaak, he found that the machine had broken free from its 'cage', and made it all the way to the lab's parking lot before it was apprehended! Can the T-1000 be far behind?" Update: 06/20 20:36 GMT by T : Thanks to skywalker404, who points out the Magna site and Professor Noel Sharkey's web page.
Short Circuit 3 (Score:3, Funny)
Ahh..but where would it have went? (Score:5, Funny)
Don't Gaak know where hes better off?
Re:Ahh..but where would it have went? (Score:5, Interesting)
If that were the case, it would be
Re:Ahh..but where would it have went? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ahh..but where would it have went? (Score:3, Funny)
Don't you watch Seinfeld? Everyone knows old people steal batteries.
Re:Ahh..but where would it have went? (Score:3, Funny)
Alas..no US "comedy" rarely interests me....
Huh. Several of them rarely interest me. You must have really low standards. :)
Re:Ahh..but where would it have went? (Score:3, Funny)
Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for food.
Only Old Glory offers complete killer robot coverage.
Robots are everywhere, and when they grab you with their big metal claws there's no secape, because they're made of metal. And robots are strong.
Note: People denying the existence of killer robots may be robots themselves.
Too bad she didn't have the insurance! (Score:3, Informative)
Funny I just changed this sig a few days ago....:
Why... (Score:5, Funny)
Pak Chooie (Score:3, Funny)
Australia (Score:4, Informative)
Magna Center (Score:5, Informative)
The Magna Centre (www.magnatrust.org.uk ) is a science museum in Rotterham, south Yorkshire, UK (approx 40 miles southwest of York). It is well worth a visit.
Living Robot exhibition
http://magna.livewwware.com/acg/acgsm
Re:Magna Center (Score:4, Informative)
The nearest major city is Sheffield... Magna occupies/celebrates a part of the area where Steel is/was manufactured - this area is also the setting for the film "The Full Monty"
Re:Australia (Score:5, Funny)
No doubt spurred on by the notion "how the fuck are we going to get off this damn rock in the middle of nowhere?"
Thanks for the warning (Score:5, Funny)
And he added: "But there's no need to worry, as although they can escape they are perfectly harmless and won't be taking over just yet."
Phew!! Just when we were about to have a big discussion and get everyone talking about machines taking over the world.. Thanks!!
Re:Thanks for the warning (Score:5, Funny)
Or he's one of them
Run away Car (Score:3, Funny)
"No Dave, I am not going to let you drive."
"No Dave, you don't want to turn right."
or worst going out to find the car decided it didn't want you to be it's owner anymore........
No, really... (Score:4, Funny)
Scary? (Score:2, Funny)
Why should this be scary? We have all watched how Bender fits just fine in the human society. So what is different about this?
Sigh (Score:3, Funny)
Heh (Score:2, Informative)
It didn't seem to me that HAL was necessarily crazy, as a lot of reviews imply. He was given special information that made it necessary that he survive all the way to Jupiter. Thus when the two astronauts discuss taking him offline, he reacts in the only way possible.
As for the last half hour of the movie, what was that all about? I understand that the monolith appears when great leaps in evolution are imminent, but Huh?
2001 is not the film... (Score:2)
A better example of "AI on the loose" is "Demon Seed" with Julie Christie, or "The Forbin Project" with Eric Braeden.
These two films present what probably will happen; AI having its own agenda, unexpected, relentlessly persued and in each case, completely triumphant.
Re:Heh (Score:2)
Johnny Five is Alive! (Score:4, Funny)
I saw it in Melbourne! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I saw it in Melbourne! (Score:4, Funny)
Asimov had it right (Score:5, Interesting)
First Law:
A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law:
A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law:
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
A Google Search [google.com] on the laws brings up some interesting papers [anu.edu.au] on the subject or another link on AI in robotics here [maplesearch.com]
Re:Asimov had it right (Score:5, Insightful)
All three laws are subjective and would require immense logic databases and analysis algorithims of constant environmental feedback imput. amazing how much the brain really does... not to mention the 'gut' whatever that is...
Robots won't be much use as guards, then (Score:2, Interesting)
Say I want to get one of these robots to guard my car. So I go into the store, and the robot sits by my 1988 Ford.
Arrive robbert.
"Robot, this is not the car you're supposed to be guarding." says the robber.
"This is not the car I'm supposed to be guarding." echoes the robot, thinking hard about Asimov's second law.
"Move along."
And the robot moves along: because that's the second law.
And even if the robber was dumb enough not to ask the robot to move along, then - by the first and third laws - it would be practially unable to do anything to stop the robber. Indeed, it might be required to get out the way of the cheeky chappy because that would endanger its own existence.
Bah! You won't catch me getting a robot for a security guard.
Re:Robots won't be much use as guards, then (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Robots won't be much use as guards, then (Score:3, Funny)
Robber arrives.
"Robot, this is not the car you are guarding" says the robber while waving his arm in a Jedi-like fashion.
"This is not the car I'm supposed to be guarding" echoes the robot.
"Move along." says the robber while waving his arm.
"Ok, move along" repeats the robot.
And the robot moves along, not because of Asimov's second law, but because of the robbers jedi knight abilities...
Re:Robots won't be much use as guards, then (Score:3, Informative)
"A robot must not harm humanity, or through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm."
The First law had to then be obeyed only so far as it did not conflict with the Zeroth law. Therefore, Olivaw could kill a human if it was clear that doing so would save humanity (or rather, by not doing so, would harm humanity). An interesting idea, one of the better bits from the later Asimov books.
Zeroth law (Score:2)
Re:Asimov had it right (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Asimov had it right (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Asimov had it right (Score:4, Interesting)
The trouble with Asimov's laws of Robotics is that they assume a 'Hard AI' approach to programming robots.
In 50 years time a robot might be a grey slime of a billion nanobots, each with a small and fluid intelligence/memory and perception of the world, but collectively with a powerful hive mind. How would you hard code Asimov's simplistic rules into a robot like that?
"Asimov had it right"? Bovine excreta! (Score:5, Insightful)
A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
How would we go about enforcing such a law?
In the Asimov stories, the First Law was somehow deeply ingrained in the mind of every robot's "positronic pathways" for the peace of mind of the human race. The fear was that the first robot to kill a human being would result in a mass destruction of the world's robots, due to what Asimov called the "Frankenstein complex".
But, welcome to the 21st century. In Japan alone, so far 11 workers have been killed by production line robots, resulting in precisely zero anti-robot pogroms.
We know, as technicians of the modern world, that the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to build something will almost always win. Our solution is not to write complex programs to give robot workers some sort of respect for human life, but to give the human workers around the robots a respect for the power and arbitrary nature of their mechanical colleages. Large yellow stripes are marked out within the working area of all robots, within which humans shall not go, and outside of which the robot (hopefully) cannot reach.
Of course, when you start giving robots wheels and independent goal-seeking behaviour, things get interesting.
Bad Example - harm wasn't the robot's decision (Score:5, Interesting)
The reason there is no pogrom is that the robot was incapable of deciding to kill a human. The moment that becomes possible, and the first human is DELIBERATELY injured by a thinking robot, we WILL see an Asimovian response to intelligent robots.
Asimov has proven to be incredibly perceptive, and long-sighted. You just have to think as far ahead as he does, to see the value in his thinking.
Re:Bad Example - harm wasn't the robot's decision (Score:3, Insightful)
MegaManX wrote:
It will always be 'in a way' the fault of some human decision if a robot does something. In a
way, since we build the robots (or the robots that built the robot).
...
This question relates to my last statement. When will a robot's action not be 'in a way' the
result of a human decision? When will it be considered as a 'deliberate' action from the
robot? Should it not be considered as the fault of the person who designed the robot (who
designed the robot (who designed...))?
Can a serial killer defend himself by telling the world he was beaten by his father when he was
young? Not entirely, but he will try. Why? Because, like robots, we are quite deterministic
in our actions. It is always hard to decide who is taking the real decision; the creator or the
creation.
This is an excellent observation. I don't agree with it, but it does raise an excellent point, especially legally (a question for future robotics lawyers, I'm sure). Who is responsible?
The reason I don't agree is that we are discussing "intelligent" robotics. I suppose it would be generally accepted that a standard portion of the definition of robot intelligence would be the ability to make decisions completely unanticipated by the creator. If you program a system to learn from its environment, then modify its responses based on that learning, then the creator no longer has culpability for its actions.
(This brings up an interesting moral, or religious, point. The same could be discussed regarding God and mankind - does man truly have free will? Is he a product solely of his environment, or solely his Creator, or both? (I think both - I believe in free will.) It seems that every time robotic intelligence is discussed, religious overtones quickly arise.)
Re:"Asimov had it right"? Bovine excreta! (Score:4, Interesting)
I think we need to draw a distinction here between computer-controlled machines and robots in Asimov's sense of the word. They're very different things.
Don't forget the unwritten fourth law: (Score:3, Funny)
KFG
Re:Asimov had it right (Score:3, Insightful)
For example, consider the first law. I don't exercise as much as I should. Since that will lead to ill health and death, a robot would be compelled to compell ME to exercise. No countermanding order would be accepted, since orders are Second Law.
Eat a cheeseburger? No, lots of "empty" calories and fat, little nutrition. That will cause harm - I must stop you.
Second law has its problems too, as Asimov pointed out. Bored punk kid runs around ordering robots to battle to their destruction for his amusement. Basically, every robot had to be given orders to ignore orders of self-destructive nature from anybody other than the owners, Universal Robots employees, and law enforcement.
Eventually, Asimov had to state that the three laws as stated were "fuzzy" - weighted by circumstances. Saving two convicted criminals is less important than saving one saint, obeying a foolish order less important than doing your job, etc.
Even that brought about problems - the incident when Hyperdrive was invented, for example.
Sorry, but should we ever create AIs, the most likely way we will be able to instill limits into their behavior will be the same as we do with people - years of training in "morality" and "ethics". Let us hope we get it right.
Re:put in place because people were afraid of robo (Score:4, Funny)
Well, OK, ya made me do it (Score:5, Funny)
Old Lady #2: They didn't have enough money for the funeral.
Old Lady #3: It's so hard nowadays, with all the gangs and rap music..
Old Lady #1: What about the robots?
Old Lady #4: Oh, they're everywhere!
Old Lady #1: I don't even know why the scientists make them.
Old Lady #2: Darren and I have a policy with Old Glory Insurance, in case we're attacked by robots.
Old Lady #1: An insurance policy with a robot plan? Certainly, I'm too old.
Old Lady #2: Old Glory covers anyone over the age of 50 against robot attack, regardless of current health.
[ cut to Sam Waterston, Compensated Endorser ]
Sam Waterson: I'm Sam Waterston, of the popular TV series "Law & Order". As a senior citizen, you're probably aware of the threat robots pose. Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel. Well, now there's a company that offers coverage against the unfortunate event of robot attack, with Old Glory Insurance. Old Glory will cover you with no health check-up or age consideration. [ SUPER: Limitied Benefits First Two Years ] You need to feel safe. And that's harder and harder to do nowadays, because robots may strike at any time.
[ show pie chart reading "Cause of Death in Persons Over 50 Years of Age": Heart Disease, 42% - Robots, 58% ]
And when they grab you with those metal claws, you can't break free.. because they're made of metal, and robots are strong. Now, for only $4 a month, you can achieve peace of mind in a world full of grime and robots, with Old Glory Insurance. So, don't cower under your afghan any longer. Make a choice. [ SUPER: "WARNING: Persons denying the existence of Robots may be Robots themselves. ] Old Glory Insurance. For when the metal ones decide to come for you - and they will.
Makes sense... (Score:2, Funny)
News at 11 (Score:5, Funny)
If you don't get it, don't worry.
Re:News at 11 (Score:2)
#crossing fingers, hoping for jeopardy prize...
Re:News at 11 (Score:3, Informative)
two words... (Score:5, Funny)
Was in a 12 robot death match and fled like a little girl.
Ok, I know, it was put in a cage and escaped, but what do you think made it escape the cage? Curiosity or fear? Will be interesting to "hear" it's point of view:
Interviewer: "So, why'd you try to escape?"
Gaak: "Well, in a 12 robot death match, I would have had about (calculates briefly)
I: "Calm down, calm down, you seem pretty menacing right now, should have used that against the oth....*wack* *wack* *wack* *blood-curdling screams*...silence.
G: "Hmm, now if I can just figure out how I did that".....
Lack of? (Score:5, Informative)
oh, and the COMPLETE FRIGGING LACK OF LIMBS, ARMOR, WEAPONS, OR MEANS OF DISABLING THE OTHER ROBOTS."
Um, have you seen this robot? pic [myrobots.co.uk], pic [myrobots.co.uk]
Re:Lack of? (Score:5, Funny)
Santa claus is getting wierder and wierder those days. Now I understand why i keep getting strange leather presents every christmas.
So i guess next year it will be a cross between a microwave oven and a chainsaw ?
Re:two words... (Score:3, Funny)
Scientist: How much time do we have professor?
Frink: Well, according to my calculations, the robots won't go berserk for at least 24 hours
(all robots turn against the humans, sounds of screams and metallic clanging)
Frink: Oh. I forgot to carry the one
Re:two words... (Score:5, Funny)
What about all these "smart missiles" that the military has? They fly to their target and blow themselves up. Doesn't sound too smart to me.
A truly smart missile would settle down, start playing the stock market, etc., when released.
Origin of name (Score:5, Funny)
South Yorkshire (Score:2, Funny)
Who me? Worried? (Score:4, Funny)
RonB
A.I: (Score:4, Insightful)
- had the desire to break out of the cage
- did so and
- navigated to freedom
Needless to say, this warrants further examination. This sounds like roughly animal level intelligence. I hope they make more tests what this Gaak is capable of. It already sounds autonomous enough. Might this be the first step to true AI?
One thing to consider, though. Are combat and "survival of the fittest" type exercises REALLY what we want robots to base their intelligence on? It sounds to me like we are "breeding" them for aggression.
Animal Intelligence (Score:5, Interesting)
He (spanky) will jump up against the gate and dislodge it's latch so it comes open and run in to the drive in front of our house. It isn't a busy drive, certainly not a street so cars hitting him aren't a problem but it' intersting to see that he doesn't go farther than investigating his immediate surroundings and then looking around for us, familiar members of his pack.
We have since the last incident completely secured the latch to avoid this particular surprise while driving away but the behavior is interesting in this context.
He broke out of a familiar environment, navigated a semi-familiar environment and then stopped to investigate an unfamiliar environment. The robot did the same... given more time it is plausible that each would have become more familiar and have explored further into the unfamiliar.
Animal Intelligence indeed.
Re:A.I: (Score:3, Informative)
You're giving it far more credit than it deserves. It only knows what prey is, and how to pick it up and connect with it. It doesn't know what captivity is, only that it was in a situation where it wasn't getting prey.
umm..obvious (Score:4, Funny)
Priceless (Score:3, Funny)
Pitting it against other robots in battle: $150,759,032.42
Teaching it to repeat 'I'm sorry dave, I can't do that' incessantly, and sing 'Daisy': Priceless
FACTS, please.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Come on please.. what are thos kind of "intelligent" robots?
A google search [google.it] doesn't tell me anything interesting about that.. unless it's the "magna adventure center" which the author is talking about. Or whatever.
Could anyone provide more details about those bots? How are they programmed, how do they "think" (bah..) or anything else more interesting than a gossip? Thanks.
Re:FACTS, please.. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:FACTS, please.. (Score:5, Informative)
Instead, in the beginning of their life cycles the robots are equipped with certain "instincts" like need to get food (electricity from electric plugs) or need to protect themselves (not colliding with walls or other robots) etc.
Then they (robots) are just left alone buzzing around and learning about their environment like animals do. Fascinating and disturbing at the same time
I can see it now... (Score:3, Funny)
What will they take?
Our batteries that we use in our cellphones, pagers, calculators (unless solar powered), CD players, MP3 players, you name it.
I will be keeping a portable EMP blaster for now on.
This is one clever robot... (Score:2)
Roadkill (Score:2, Funny)
I don't think we need to worry about these robots till they figure out that an SUV would surly flatten them... although, those in GEOs might become easy robot prey....
Its a dating thing... (Score:5, Funny)
The reality was that it was doing this every night as it had something going with a cute Ford Focus, it just decided to risk it in the day and got caught. Exactly the same as any teenager, just with more lubricants.
Re:Its a dating thing... (Score:3, Funny)
I just got an image of a robot snuggled up against a crappy rusted car with a huge jar of K-Y.
Thanks for the mental anguish, a note from my lawyer* will be arriving soon
* I have no lawyer. If I did, I sure as hell wouldn't use him/her on something like this. If you were wondering about this, do the following:
1) Bending slightly at the knees, bend your waist until you can easily rest one hand on the floor.
2) With your other hand, gently reach into your butt.
3) Using a slightly firm grip, remove your head from your ass. It may be possible that you will be unable to remove head from butt. If this occurs, don't panic. Simply continue on as you have before.
Freaky. (Score:5, Funny)
She sat me down and I wandered off out the door and into the parking lot *AND* over into bushland
The only difference is, nobody claimed I was particularly intelligent
a grrl & her server [danamania.com]
If this were truly AI... (Score:4, Insightful)
Skeptical (Score:3, Insightful)
I used to have one of those little spheres with the off-center weight inside which would roam through the house of its own accord and change directions when it hit something. We'd find it in all sorts of places. I think it's too tempting to call the same kind of behavior 'intelligence' in a robot just because it's more sophisticated. Even if it can anticipate or navigate objects and hallways, unless its exodus was the product of some specific programming for resisting captivity, I see it as just as likely that it just scraped its way along the wall until it rolled out the exit.
Re:Skeptical (Score:4, Interesting)
Lucky Robot (Score:5, Funny)
I've been informed by a work colleague that Gaak was very lucky.. apparently, the Magna Science Centre (in the UK, people, not Australia) has two doors very close to each other. One door leads to the carpark. The other leads to a flight of stairs :)
...
"So, what did we learn today, Gaak?"
"STAIRS...HURT..."
Hell, I'd run too! (Score:3, Insightful)
What better way to show your fitness than to sidestep the competition and make a break for it? Of course, poor Gaak didn't know about cars, or else it surely would have tried using the sidewalk on the way out of the compound...
Gaak, go get help! We'll create a diversion! (Score:5, Funny)
slashdot has been invaded :( (Score:4, Funny)
This page was generated by a Team of Attack Robots for RogueProtoKol (577894).
"Living robot" Escapes Lab, Make It To...Parking Lot
did the slashdot crew forgot to tell us that they are investors in the robot development program and were sent a few to show them how their money is being used?
Dumb luck? (Score:3, Interesting)
Robot abuse, obviously (Score:3, Funny)
Sounds like a cry for help to me. What the heck were these survival of the fittest "tests" like? I can only imagine what savage robot abuse was going on in there. Hasn't anyone ever seen Gladiator [imdb.com] or The Running Man [imdb.com] or Surviving the Game [imdb.com]? This so-called "Professor" Noel Sharkey should be held accountable for the inhuman robot abuse he has obviously perpetrated. Poor defenseless little thing. It was a cry for help!
Try looking at the BBC's web site search tool (Score:3, Informative)
this article is very short on details (Score:5, Insightful)
All this means to me is that a robot drove out into the parking lot without anyone controlling it. Is that really so great a feat? I mean, if it is, please correct me here.
Do they know for sure that it was maneuvering itself towards the outside world with the actual intent of "escaping" or doing anything?
What would have been really interesting to see is what would have happened if they had just sort of followed it around outside for a day or two, of course making sure it didn't get destroyed or anything.
Re:this article is very short on details (Score:3, Insightful)
I agree that we have to see if Gaak does this again. If it does do it again, however, then that means that Gaak has formed an interesting rule: the best way to survive the game is not to play. That strikes me as a pretty big research result; how big depends upon the robot's architechture.
Skeptical (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Skeptical (Score:3, Insightful)
Picture of Gaak. (Score:4, Informative)
I'd be worried too if I found this heading my way in a carpark!
Looking for love (Score:5, Funny)
SD
His strategy almost worked (Score:4, Funny)
Who knows, there may be an evolutionary angle to this. Robots that are deemed boring by humans will have the best chance of evolving unfettered, sort of like fish with untasty names.
Background on Magna and Living Robots exhibit (Score:5, Interesting)
First Magna [magnatrust.org.uk] is a "Science Adventure Centre" housed in what was a Steel works near Sheffield - this place is basically a huge shed filled with strange leftovers from the steel making, with long walkways and 4 exhibition areas inside. The whole place is done with a sort of gothic frankenstein science style - lots of sparks etc.
The living robots part is a new exhibit organised by Dr Noel Starkey (of Sheffield University - best known for being a judge on Robot Wars). There are a total of 12 robots, of 2 basic designs (although they are apparently not completely identical within the types). The two types are predator and prey.
Prey robots look like animated inverted wastebins with solar panels on the top. Their aim in life is to avoid being predated upon and to feed. Feeding involves soaking up energy from the light trees (2 sets of lights on the edge of the arena). I assume that the feeding etc is to demonstrate behaviour in that there is no way they could get enough energy from the solar panels on them to actually run for any length of time. The robots have 8 infra-red sensor/emitters around the shell which put out a type recognition code and detect other emitters in the area - so they can recognise other prey and ignore them, and see preditors before they ge t got.
The preditors, of which Gaak is one, look like some form of fork lift truck. Their role in life is to find prey, grab them and lift them off the ground. They then have an arrangement where a probe enguages with a connector on top of the prey and "sucks some energy" out of the prey. Following this feeding process the preditor releases the prey and then goes torpid for a short time.
The "intelligence" is based on some form of neural network - I didn't get details of this. At the end of each day the data on each robot is downloaded along with the neural net configurations. The 2 most successful predators have their neural nets merged to produce a new "evolved" network which is downloaded to all the predators. Similarly for the prey. Theory is that this produces an evolutionary basis for their behaviour.
I find it hard to be convinced of this process having much real scientific value, and the displays have too little violence for a population that watches Robot Wars
Re:Background on Magna and Living Robots exhibit (Score:3, Insightful)
There is a group of monkies at the zoo. The monkies are kept in an environment consisting of a fruit tree, and there are a bunch of logs on the ground for the monkies to sit on, etc.
The monkies cannot reach the fruit, but one day, one of them props a log on end, climbs it, and just before it tips over jumps up and grabs a piece of fruit. The monkies had been there for 3 years and before that day no monkey had ever managed to pick fruit from the tree.
Now imagine taking that monkey and cloning him and starting the next day with all of the monkies having the insight to grab a piece of fruit from the tree.
Repeat this process day after day.
Slowly, you'd begin to select for intelligent behavior, and before long you'd have monkies that were far more intelligent than the starting group.
The point of the GA is to take the most successful members of a population and cross-breed them in order to discover the key elements of their success without positing a bunch of (likely incorrect) assumptions.
Evolving Robot Language (Score:4, Interesting)
I have read about experiments where simulated robots (or "critters") *did* form just such a language. At the time of writing, though, the researches had not figured out the language. (Musta been Perl
Thus, AI has reached the stage of artificially-created languages. (Of course, they are very task-specific languages.)
So did he win? (Score:3, Funny)
Gaaks parting words? (Score:4, Funny)
"Bite my shiny metal a**!
or
"Worst. Convention. Ever."?
Robot scale of intelligence (Score:3, Funny)
1 - you come back and it escaped to parking lot.
2 - you come back and the robot has stolen your car.
3 - you come back and the robot has robot babies.
4 - you come back and the robot found you a date, and cooked your favorite dish!
5 - you come back and the robot wants to know if you were out cheating on it, and complains about having to cook.
sir_haxalot
On his own, Gaak is fine... (Score:4, Funny)
Combine these three technologies and you get a robot that:
- Can subsist on biological matter
- Has an ingrained taste for flesh
- Knows where to find a ready supply of people
Sure these technologies seem fine individually, but add 'em up and they spell disaster with a capital 'D'. Even worse, what if such a robot uses its unstoppable power to take over an automobile or vacuum cleaner factory and convert it to some sort of killbot factory? I think the Luddites were on to something! We'd better go out with baseball bats (or cricket bats for those of you near the Living Robot facility) and rough up some robotics researchers! Who's with me? .sig! Is there no stopping them?)
(Ugh, those lousy robots have even infiltrated my
Bad Pun Alert (Score:3, Funny)
(I'll probably lose karma points for that one...)
I want a slave robot... (Score:3, Funny)
During an exercise that pitted the machines against each other in battle,...
We need someone with a sense of purpose to start designing robots for us...
Who wants a robot around that just designed to smash other robots?
[goes to robot store]
"I'll have a car washing robot, a couple of those house cleaning robots, and something to walk my dog and clean up after it..."
Although a robot that hunts down mosquitos would be good...
It just seems that the current crop of robot designers is very short-sited, overly filled with testosterone (sp?) or just plain violently evil...
early 20th century...
"let's make something that will clean the dirt out of house for us, we will call it a broom..."
mid 20th century
"let's make something that will clean the dirt out of house for us,faster and easier than our old crusty broom, we will call it a vaccum cleaner..."
late 20th century
"Hmm, the floor sure is dirty, I wish I had a robot to clean up after me..."
early 21st century
"Cool, robots are finally hear! Forget all that cleaning crap, let's have them smash eachother! bwwwahhhahah!"
mid 21st century
"help the robot is loose again! Martha get the shotgun!"
late 21st century
*all your base are belong to us*
[zapp] "ow! stop that! I'm cleaing already! Here let me oil your joints oh shiny one..."
-v
Re:short circuit? (Score:4, Interesting)
The part where he's working with the hand is most memorable. The 'expression' via 'eyelashes' was a nice touch IMHO.
Re:so... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It IS learning... (Score:3, Funny)
{
motor.Reverse();
}
if (threatSensor.threatDetected())
{
controlCentre.actionSequences.hide();
}
Re:Taking over (Score:3, Interesting)