Scientists fear a revolt by killer robots

britexpat
By britexpat

I Robot becaomes a reality ???????????????????????????

Advances in artificial intelligence promise many benefits, but scientists are privately so worried they may be creating machines which end up outsmarting — and perhaps even endangering — humans that they held a secret meeting to discuss limiting their research.

At the conference, held behind closed doors in Monterey Bay, California, leading researchers warned that mankind might lose control over computer-based systems that carry out a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting on the phone, and have already reached a level of indestructibility comparable with a cockroach.

“These are powerful technologies that could be used in good ways or scary ways,” warned Eric Horvitz, principal researcher at Microsoft who organised the conference on behalf of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

According to Alan Winfield, a professor at the University of the West of England, scientists are spending too much time developing artificial intelligence and too little on robot safety.

“We’re rapidly approaching the time when new robots should undergo tests, similar to ethical and clinical trials for new drugs, before they can be introduced,” he said.

Robotic unmanned predator drones, for example, which can seek out and kill human targets, have already moved out of the movie theatres and into the theatre of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. While at present controlled by human operators, they are moving towards more autonomous control.

They could also soon be found on the streets. Samsung, the South Korean electronics company, has developed autonomous sentry robots to serve as armed border guards. They have “shoot-to-kill” capability.

Scientists are particularly worried about the way the latest, highly sophisticated artificially intelligent products perform human-like functions.

Japanese consumers can already buy robots that “learn” their owner’s behaviour, can open the front door and even find electrical outlets and recharge themselves so they never stop working.

One high-tech US firm is working on robotic nurses, dubbed “nursebots”, that interact with patients to simulate empathy. Critics told the conference that, at best, this could be dehumanising; at worst, something could go wrong with the programming.

The scientists dismissed as fanciful fears about “singularity” — the term used to describe the point where robots have become so intelligent they are able to build ever more capable versions of themselves without further input from mankind.

The Times

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 21:16
anonymous

HAL? Move every letter one position further in the alphabet, heero. What do you get? H = I, A = B, L = M. (IBM). Now you know why it didn't work!

By heero_yuy2• 4 Aug 2009 20:04
heero_yuy2

The cause of HALs malfunction was an infiltration of a directive by the government to the program.

It is still humans who has to blame.

"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 13:59
anonymous

From you, brit, I must take it as a compliment. Thank you.

By britexpat• 4 Aug 2009 13:29
britexpat

I believe you are a perfect test specimen for teh future of mankind - A cybernetically enhanced humanoid .

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 13:14
anonymous

Try to stop me, ha ha ha!

By britexpat• 4 Aug 2009 10:48
britexpat

Female, blow up versions of Mate-a-trons have been around for ages.. They even talk...

Anyway , getting back to the topic... Self learning robots and nono technologies are a dangerous mix...We must stop this at once..

By Eagley• 4 Aug 2009 10:23
Eagley

Dbl postie. solly!

By Eagley• 4 Aug 2009 10:21
Eagley

A Mate-a-tron?

Ah soh! Ala Stepford wives? Hmmm.. what works for the gander, works for the goosey too!

No nagging husbands, peace on earth!

*****************************************

Don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 10:04
anonymous

How about a Robot Helper...?

That has the ablity to:

1. Vaccum the floor and all the unreachable corners (with its extendable arm)...more than 10 times a day!!!

2. Mow the lawn to perfection.

3. Guard the house & shoot down a burgler with a tranquliser?

4. Trace, detect & kill rodents & pets...oops pests with its thermal imaging sensors.

5. Helps you with carpentery work...drilling, cutting, nailing, nailremoving, with amazing perfection.

6. Carrying heavy load.

7. Washing & Polishing your car.

8. Doing your Laundry.... Putting them out to dry.

9. Ironing your clothes, Doing your dishes, and keeping them back where they belong.

10. Cook you the breakfast/lunch/dinner that you want.

11. Massage your body & legs ...

12. Doesnt need food, water, salary....or holidays.

Its when this "Robor Helper" become a reality will the question of Robot revolution arise.

But this could happen in 20yrs time!!!

The biggest problem scientists faced was getting them to walk and climb stairs....now that they have achieved this....the rest is cakewalk...literally.....only question is to make them small enough and cheap enough so as people can afford them like computers today.

By someonenew• 4 Aug 2009 09:47
someonenew

Fun- I wonder if they can automate that as well?

"Ali Baba and 40 thieves" are now "Ali Baba and 30 thieves" ; 10 were laid off.

By britexpat• 4 Aug 2009 09:40
britexpat

Ah... The old Orgasmatron...

But where's the fun in that ??

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 09:37
anonymous

Brit that would be the easiest........not too difficult to attach a 12 inch long & beer-can thick vibrator to a robot.

With electromagnatic brain scans it could even detect when the lady of the house in the "mood" and go for it unlike a clumsy hubby.

By someonenew• 4 Aug 2009 09:36
someonenew

Brit and MD- it can be done by just giving the right stimulii to the brain, the thingy is not really required:)

"Ali Baba and 40 thieves" are now "Ali Baba and 30 thieves" ; 10 were laid off.

By britexpat• 4 Aug 2009 09:34
britexpat

I this region, solar panels on the "backside" of the Mate-a-tron will be used to store energy. In addition, a new KERS type device will be installed to ensure that "motion" energy is used to constantly recharge the batteries..

By someonenew• 4 Aug 2009 09:33
someonenew

Jack if you remove the battery of a cell phone it will switch off in reality. Its the same with humans as well, remove the power source :)

"Ali Baba and 40 thieves" are now "Ali Baba and 30 thieves" ; 10 were laid off.

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 09:18
anonymous

brit, that's not logic. In order to be husbands or partners they have to have a penis. Do you think they will really give them that thingy? And what about the energy supply? In this case all electrical energy will be used for the penis and the brain will stop working. This will be the moment to switch the robot off.

By Faby• 4 Aug 2009 09:00
Faby

Britexpat,

Yeah, then maybe Doha wouldn't be so lonely anymore for many people eh? ;)

It would be fullfilling physically only I guess - kinda like having an intelligent vacuum cleaner as a girlfriend.

By britexpat• 4 Aug 2009 08:52
britexpat

using your logic, they could also replace Husbands and partners :O)

By Faby• 4 Aug 2009 08:49
Faby

Yeah baldrik as long as those 3 laws are used as guidelines during programming them then there should be no major problems even if they do develop intelligence.

Actually I think it would take another century or so before they become something like those in "Blade Runner" (http://bladerunnerthemovie.warnerbros.com/)but it is a fascinating idea.

Imagine the lives we can save using autonomous non-remote controlled rescue bots in avalanches, fires, earthquakes and in wars (no more mourning fallen sons or husbands).

By Gypsy• 4 Aug 2009 08:23
Gypsy

Looks very similar. And don't even get me started on my toaster. I think it's in cahoots with the microwave and planning world domination.

By britexpat• 4 Aug 2009 08:20
britexpat

Creepy.... I have the same worries about my alarm clock.. Perhaps we have the same one ??

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 08:19
anonymous

This is intresting....MD ...we cannot even switch off our Mobile Phones...of course we think we did but its actually in sleep mode....thus can tigger off an alarm if set.

Singularity can be achieved by the Robots...eg..the Robots keeps a log on its errors, reasons for the errors, etc (just like our pc-software keeps logs). Now this could be in machine language, which only one person knows. Robot kills that person off. Then nobody would understand their "language" and they would become more and more intelligent without human knowledge......assemble/create robots that are indestructable by human......and later tigger off a revolution.

I guess each Robot should have a ID, Sponsor and an NOC.....to get a job......lol

By kamote_ka• 4 Aug 2009 08:15
kamote_ka

they watch too much terminator, i-robot etc.....

By baldrick2dogs• 4 Aug 2009 08:13
baldrick2dogs

Sorry Brit, I cannot do that :o)

Damn, now I got Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy in my head and can't get rid of it!

By Gypsy• 4 Aug 2009 08:10
Gypsy

I can't sleep at night for fear my alarm clock will come alive and kill me.

By britexpat• 4 Aug 2009 08:09
britexpat

Easier said than done.. As Robots learn and evolve, they will become self thinking and gain the ability to "disobey" our commands..

Baldrick:

The three laws refer to humans.. What happens when we traverse space and meet and mate with other galactic entities ??

Am I the only one worried here ??? Does NO ONE remember HAL from 2001 A Space Oddyssye ????

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 08:09
anonymous

lol...MD

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 08:07
anonymous

I guess, in the worst case you have to push the robot into a river or a lake. They surely will drown, jackmohan.

By baldrick2dogs• 4 Aug 2009 07:32
baldrick2dogs

Three Laws of Robotics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In science fiction, the Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three rules written by Isaac Asimov, which almost all positronic robots appearing in his fiction must obey. Introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although foreshadowed in a few earlier stories, the Laws state the following:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics

By smoke• 4 Aug 2009 07:22
smoke

Skynet beware...Terminator Rising

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

 

By anonymous• 4 Aug 2009 06:13
anonymous

not to harm humans in any way. we'll be fine =)

_______________________________________________________

"You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back."

By Dracula• 3 Aug 2009 23:19
Dracula

&feature=channel

By Eagley• 3 Aug 2009 21:53
Eagley

AI a reality... Cool!

By anonymous• 3 Aug 2009 21:19
anonymous

You can switch them off, brit.

By heero_yuy2• 3 Aug 2009 20:56
heero_yuy2

If robots gain emotions, that's what I should worry. A revolution will occur, hence the I, Robot concept.

"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

By britexpat• 3 Aug 2009 20:40
britexpat

Its not the people, but the Robots gaining intelligence..

By heero_yuy2• 3 Aug 2009 20:35
heero_yuy2

If we can't even use a computer properly in spite of its proper technology, why should it be any better on a robot?

"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

By Stone Cold• 3 Aug 2009 20:35
Stone Cold

Not to worry about because these scientific tips and solution can be found in one of these books.

By Dracula• 3 Aug 2009 20:29
Dracula

can I download some blood?

Turn off your firewall, then!

...share your neck on the network,please!

.

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