the imitation game
June 26, 2024 8:49 AM Subscribe
"Japanese scientists have found a way to attach living skin to robot faces, for more realistic smiles and other facial expressions. [...] The prototype may appear more Haribo than human-like. But the researchers say it paves the way to making convincingly realistic, moving humanoids with self-healing skin that will not easily rip or tear." (BBC, paper)
I can't believe I get to insert my favorite Alan Turing quote, which has been in my profile forever, but my moment has come: "No engineer or chemist claims to be able to produce a material which is indistinguishable from the human skin. It is possible that at some time this might be done, but even supposing this invention available we should feel there was little point in trying to make a 'thinking machine' more human by dressing it up in such artificial flesh."
I can't believe I get to insert my favorite Alan Turing quote, which has been in my profile forever, but my moment has come: "No engineer or chemist claims to be able to produce a material which is indistinguishable from the human skin. It is possible that at some time this might be done, but even supposing this invention available we should feel there was little point in trying to make a 'thinking machine' more human by dressing it up in such artificial flesh."
Do you want time-travelling Terminators?
Because that's how you get time-travelling Terminators.
posted by AzraelBrown at 8:54 AM on June 26 [20 favorites]
Because that's how you get time-travelling Terminators.
posted by AzraelBrown at 8:54 AM on June 26 [20 favorites]
One significant next step in this research is to leverage this model to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying wrinkle formation.
a wrinkle? in time
posted by HearHere at 8:55 AM on June 26 [5 favorites]
a wrinkle? in time
posted by HearHere at 8:55 AM on June 26 [5 favorites]
WE KNOW HOW THIS MOVIE ENDS!
posted by Pedantzilla at 8:57 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
posted by Pedantzilla at 8:57 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
posted by Omon Ra at 8:58 AM on June 26 [7 favorites]
posted by Omon Ra at 8:58 AM on June 26 [7 favorites]
Anyone else looking at that first photo getting blobfish vibes?
posted by rory at 8:59 AM on June 26 [7 favorites]
posted by rory at 8:59 AM on June 26 [7 favorites]
There's a Robin Williams bit where he says, "Even Caligula at this point is going, 'What the hell are you people doing?' "
posted by Sing Or Swim at 9:05 AM on June 26 [19 favorites]
posted by Sing Or Swim at 9:05 AM on June 26 [19 favorites]
good news everyone: this completely avoids the uncanny valley by skipping over it and going straight to horror
posted by BungaDunga at 9:07 AM on June 26 [30 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 9:07 AM on June 26 [30 favorites]
The prototype may appear more Haribo than human-like.
Haribo could not be reached for comment. Or maybe we just couldn't hear the comment over all the screaming.
posted by The Bellman at 9:09 AM on June 26 [5 favorites]
Haribo could not be reached for comment. Or maybe we just couldn't hear the comment over all the screaming.
posted by The Bellman at 9:09 AM on June 26 [5 favorites]
I Have a Mouth and *You* Must Scream
posted by credulous at 9:10 AM on June 26 [10 favorites]
posted by credulous at 9:10 AM on June 26 [10 favorites]
That's really cool, probably the hardest visual part will be all the various elements that make up what we perceive to be skin, but most of that would be superfluous or counter productive to the bots function. It doesn't need oily hairs and pores and wrinkles and blood vessels and such.
Reckon one of the major functional roadblocks is that "self-healing" aspect. One thing for a material to patch up its wears and tears a bit to keep functioning for longer -- but the real power of bioengineering is the organic regeneration of damaged material, generating new material to repair damage, not just cleverly patching over itself using the finite material originally placed.
posted by GoblinHoney at 9:10 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
Reckon one of the major functional roadblocks is that "self-healing" aspect. One thing for a material to patch up its wears and tears a bit to keep functioning for longer -- but the real power of bioengineering is the organic regeneration of damaged material, generating new material to repair damage, not just cleverly patching over itself using the finite material originally placed.
posted by GoblinHoney at 9:10 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
The only good thing I can see coming out of this is if it creates new and better artificial skin for healing burn victims.
The idea that robots need skin is a bit meh to start with and the actual photos in that article are straight up horror show nightmare fuel.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:18 AM on June 26 [7 favorites]
The idea that robots need skin is a bit meh to start with and the actual photos in that article are straight up horror show nightmare fuel.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:18 AM on June 26 [7 favorites]
I feel like we're approaching the point where bigtech is going to try to make things that look, but only look, like humans more and more, until they get to the point where they take their "AI"-running, skin-covered, walking upright robot, point at it and say "Look! It's basically a person now! It has rights!" And won't that be a shitshow when it happens, especially since the techbros that will advocate for it having rights in all the ways that benefit them (voting power, maybe!) and none of the many ways that give them responsibilities towards their creations. ("What do you mean I have to be the one to pay to keep it powered up?")
Yeah, I'm making up a situation here, but can't you see it happening?
posted by JHarris at 9:19 AM on June 26 [17 favorites]
Yeah, I'm making up a situation here, but can't you see it happening?
posted by JHarris at 9:19 AM on June 26 [17 favorites]
that's a doctor who villain
The one where the jelly babies turn against Tom Baker?
posted by mittens at 9:24 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
The one where the jelly babies turn against Tom Baker?
posted by mittens at 9:24 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
Invented too late for Lou, sadly
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:25 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:25 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
The idea that robots need skin is a bit meh
A self-healing outer covering probably is a good idea. I don't know that it has to look like human skin though.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:29 AM on June 26
A self-healing outer covering probably is a good idea. I don't know that it has to look like human skin though.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:29 AM on June 26
#1 question in product development: has this been done by someone else already? Is my solution any better?
It only takes 9 months to make a baby… Just make a baby
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:34 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
It only takes 9 months to make a baby… Just make a baby
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:34 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
James Cameron: In my movie I invented the Terminator as a cautionary tale
Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Terminator from classic sci-fi movie Don't Create The Terminator
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:43 AM on June 26 [31 favorites]
Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Terminator from classic sci-fi movie Don't Create The Terminator
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:43 AM on June 26 [31 favorites]
And won't that be a shitshow when it happens, especially since the techbros that will advocate for it having rights in all the ways that benefit them (voting power, maybe!)
It would be ironic if there was some kind of compromise that gave each bot 0.6 votes.
posted by notoriety public at 9:45 AM on June 26 [3 favorites]
It would be ironic if there was some kind of compromise that gave each bot 0.6 votes.
posted by notoriety public at 9:45 AM on June 26 [3 favorites]
Interesting. I wonder how one might make it feel pain.
posted by 1024 at 9:51 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by 1024 at 9:51 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
Make cutting remarks about how idiotic the whole thing is.
posted by njohnson23 at 10:07 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by njohnson23 at 10:07 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
The idea that robots need skin is a bit meh
A self-healing outer covering probably is a good idea. I don't know that it has to look like human skin though.
Do you want teletubbies? This is how we get teletubbies.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:08 AM on June 26 [5 favorites]
A self-healing outer covering probably is a good idea. I don't know that it has to look like human skin though.
Do you want teletubbies? This is how we get teletubbies.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:08 AM on June 26 [5 favorites]
"Look! It's basically a person now! It has rights!"
Hmm not a bad idea at all, JHarris. It might not even incur that much technical debt to send up a trial balloon. I really could see justifying the spend just for fact finding alone. File articles of incorporation for one fleshwalker, find one amenable judge to gum up the works while we build more and advocate, also gives us time to find equal and opposite experts to shape public opinion, A/B some theories (across markets? legislatures? what's our relevant boundary? what's the downside of testing in a lower cost foreign market?) and see how we do. I imagine each copro-corpus could share one mailbox in Texas?
If we put the Nexus on hold, I bet we could get a looks-like MVP out in one, maybe two sprints tops. I'm heading out for some pickleball, but find some time on my calendly and let's circle back!
posted by 1024 at 10:09 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]
Hmm not a bad idea at all, JHarris. It might not even incur that much technical debt to send up a trial balloon. I really could see justifying the spend just for fact finding alone. File articles of incorporation for one fleshwalker, find one amenable judge to gum up the works while we build more and advocate, also gives us time to find equal and opposite experts to shape public opinion, A/B some theories (across markets? legislatures? what's our relevant boundary? what's the downside of testing in a lower cost foreign market?) and see how we do. I imagine each copro-corpus could share one mailbox in Texas?
If we put the Nexus on hold, I bet we could get a looks-like MVP out in one, maybe two sprints tops. I'm heading out for some pickleball, but find some time on my calendly and let's circle back!
posted by 1024 at 10:09 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]
I definitely want the first android body that I get to use as my own to have skin so I look human. Gotta make it less uncomfortable for those sticking to biological bodies for a while.
posted by evilangela at 10:18 AM on June 26
posted by evilangela at 10:18 AM on June 26
I pray to you, Dark Lord, to make me REAL FLESH!
I will make you the fleshy boy you desire!
posted by mbrubeck at 10:22 AM on June 26
I will make you the fleshy boy you desire!
posted by mbrubeck at 10:22 AM on June 26
I kinda love this, to be honest. Not the current results because those are objectively horrifying, obviously, but it just makes me feel like some version of this conversation must have taken place at some point:
ENGINEERS: We need money to create artificial skin for robots.
GRANT COMMITTEE: Why, though?
ENGINEERS: What do you mean, why?
GRANT COMMITTEE: What problem does this solve?
ENGINEERS: ...
GRANT COMMITTEE: ...
ENGINEERS: In sci-fi, the robots have skin so that they look like us.
GRANT COMMITTEE: Sure, but is that actually a goal that we need to pursue?
[The Engineers huddle for a minute]
ENGINEERS: Human-like skin could be self-healing, I guess? That could be useful? FOr, like, maintenance and stuff?
GRANT COMMITTEE: Sure, why not?
posted by Navelgazer at 10:23 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
ENGINEERS: We need money to create artificial skin for robots.
GRANT COMMITTEE: Why, though?
ENGINEERS: What do you mean, why?
GRANT COMMITTEE: What problem does this solve?
ENGINEERS: ...
GRANT COMMITTEE: ...
ENGINEERS: In sci-fi, the robots have skin so that they look like us.
GRANT COMMITTEE: Sure, but is that actually a goal that we need to pursue?
[The Engineers huddle for a minute]
ENGINEERS: Human-like skin could be self-healing, I guess? That could be useful? FOr, like, maintenance and stuff?
GRANT COMMITTEE: Sure, why not?
posted by Navelgazer at 10:23 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
We stood beneath an amber moon / And softly murmured "Someday soon"
posted by adamrice at 10:28 AM on June 26
posted by adamrice at 10:28 AM on June 26
Nobody, and I mean absolutely no damn body:
Japan: Faces made of living skin make robots smile
posted by NoMich at 10:30 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
Japan: Faces made of living skin make robots smile
posted by NoMich at 10:30 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
Look, let's just get the replacement of humans over and done with.
posted by senor biggles at 10:30 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by senor biggles at 10:30 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
A self-healing outer covering probably is a good idea.And not just for robots! Anything that can get scratched during use will benefit. This will soon lead to flesh-covered cars, kitchen utensils, and smart phones. (But not books.)
posted by mbrubeck at 10:31 AM on June 26 [7 favorites]
FUCK NO
posted by mattgriffin at 10:36 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by mattgriffin at 10:36 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
flesh-covered cars
At least the cybertruck's lines will be softer!
posted by mittens at 10:44 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
At least the cybertruck's lines will be softer!
posted by mittens at 10:44 AM on June 26 [4 favorites]
That first picture gives Han-in-carbonite, if carbonite were Jell-o and Han were a small child stuck in a well.
posted by chavenet at 10:46 AM on June 26 [5 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 10:46 AM on June 26 [5 favorites]
Marketing idea for the skin-covered-android-future: Robot Botox
"Robotox"
posted by chavenet at 10:47 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
"Robotox"
posted by chavenet at 10:47 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
You know how. sometimes you think a photograph of the subject might be helpful?
AW, HELL NO.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 10:57 AM on June 26
AW, HELL NO.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 10:57 AM on June 26
On a scale of touching grass to burning CYBERtrucks my reaction is decidedly
Dust off and nuke it from orbitposted by zenon at 11:04 AM on June 26
Robot Revolution! Ok now I've lost all the reactionaries lets consider a small useful example. Assuming a near future enlightened society raises the lives of uncounted women and there is a near total dearth of home wellness helpers for the elderly that live into their 120s from crisper or something but need assistance. Shouldn't the helper robots have the best physical contact? The softest touch to help the most delicate of us.
There have been millenia of trial and error that is current "skin" shouldn't we expect the best material to be close to that?
Let's meet here in 2090 to revisit this topic.
posted by sammyo at 11:05 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
There have been millenia of trial and error that is current "skin" shouldn't we expect the best material to be close to that?
Let's meet here in 2090 to revisit this topic.
posted by sammyo at 11:05 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
flesh-covered cars
Dragon Approved.
But hopefully not kid-tested.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:34 AM on June 26
Dragon Approved.
But hopefully not kid-tested.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:34 AM on June 26
I would prefer not to.
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:38 AM on June 26
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:38 AM on June 26
Coming soon:
Oh, man, the flesh on my new Tesla’s as smooth as a baby’s butt!
Touch a lot of baby butts, do ya?
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 11:56 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
Oh, man, the flesh on my new Tesla’s as smooth as a baby’s butt!
Touch a lot of baby butts, do ya?
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 11:56 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
flesh-covered cars
Dragon Approved.
Oh god a reference to THAT thread. I've been looking for it in the years since but without success, I can only assume it was obliterated in an account wipe
posted by JHarris at 12:02 PM on June 26
Dragon Approved.
Oh god a reference to THAT thread. I've been looking for it in the years since but without success, I can only assume it was obliterated in an account wipe
posted by JHarris at 12:02 PM on June 26
Pfft Apple did this like 13 years ago
According to technical specifications released by Apple, the revolutionary laptop also features an advanced graphic display with a movable lid that protects the exposed screen from harmful dust particles or bacterial infections that can cause the monitor to cloud up and ooze a yellow, milky substance.posted by migurski at 12:04 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
The softest touch to help the most delicate of us
This thread would have gone so differently if the scientists had given the robots feathers.
posted by mittens at 12:06 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
This thread would have gone so differently if the scientists had given the robots feathers.
posted by mittens at 12:06 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
Install a Fleshlight mod and you got your source of protein for the skin regeneration.
posted by slogger at 12:37 PM on June 26
posted by slogger at 12:37 PM on June 26
Humans so hate themselves that they are investing in, researching, developing and promoting machines to replace them, and trying to improve the machines' abilities to decieve and mimic us. Its evil, and the people who work on it are
posted by No Climate - No Food, No Food - No Future. at 12:39 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by No Climate - No Food, No Food - No Future. at 12:39 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
Having a couple of friends who had to endure/are still enduring extensive skin grafts (daily maintenance is required), I'm with jacquilynne on this. The way they're marketing this, though, is making me thoroughly depressed.
posted by queensissy at 1:10 PM on June 26
posted by queensissy at 1:10 PM on June 26
In general: YES! Yeeessssss!
After seeing photos: still Yes! But also some eep.
This isn’t going to be one of my more popular ones and I am prefacing that I actively want to taken to task and have my error(s) spelled out, please:
until they get to the point where they take their "AI"-running, skin-covered, walking upright robot, point at it and say "Look! It's basically a person now! It has rights!" And won't that be a shitshow when it happens, especially since the techbros that will advocate for it having rights in all the ways that benefit them (voting power, maybe!)
But that doesn’t make any sense: why would anybody want more people with rights? What “they” want are not-quite-sentient slaves (because exploitative capitalists) and seemingly-sentient-but-provably-isn’t sexbots (because lonely nerds …he said with nigh-infinite hypocrisy).
I’m having a tough time making an argument that either of those things are terrible goals to have. All the arguments I can think of are based on my idiotic feelings of fearing the unknown. Getting to intersectional marxist from a starting point of evangelical fundamentalist involved a shit-ton of learning to reflexively suppress and even attack that kind of feeling whenever it starts up, so to me it is second nature but maybe that is not true of everyone. Maybe not even most people.
My stupid alienation aside: virtually nobody wants to do drudge work and it’s a shit way to spend your limited existence, so making something that can do it instead of requiring somebody is a win. And it’s kind of tough to make a case against the existence of sexbots that isn’t based in prudishness as long as they really are 100% non-sapient and not based on a specific real person.
Whether robot slaves or robot sextoys the non-sapient bit is not hard: recursive agent-state prediction in artificial neural networks (an essential component of “real” AGI, since we do it daily) is a completely unsolved problem. Not embedding that functionality into a sexbot is really easy given we currently have neither the AI nor the sexbot, and still pretty easy if the AI part gets solved later on since you can just continue developing whatever collection of models came immediately prior (*rimshot*, *glare*) in a separate branch.
So, yeah, it looks horrifying through the lens of our current values but it’s the future and that is and always will be exciting to me.
posted by Ryvar at 1:50 PM on June 26 [2 favorites]
After seeing photos: still Yes! But also some eep.
This isn’t going to be one of my more popular ones and I am prefacing that I actively want to taken to task and have my error(s) spelled out, please:
until they get to the point where they take their "AI"-running, skin-covered, walking upright robot, point at it and say "Look! It's basically a person now! It has rights!" And won't that be a shitshow when it happens, especially since the techbros that will advocate for it having rights in all the ways that benefit them (voting power, maybe!)
But that doesn’t make any sense: why would anybody want more people with rights? What “they” want are not-quite-sentient slaves (because exploitative capitalists) and seemingly-sentient-but-provably-isn’t sexbots (because lonely nerds …he said with nigh-infinite hypocrisy).
I’m having a tough time making an argument that either of those things are terrible goals to have. All the arguments I can think of are based on my idiotic feelings of fearing the unknown. Getting to intersectional marxist from a starting point of evangelical fundamentalist involved a shit-ton of learning to reflexively suppress and even attack that kind of feeling whenever it starts up, so to me it is second nature but maybe that is not true of everyone. Maybe not even most people.
My stupid alienation aside: virtually nobody wants to do drudge work and it’s a shit way to spend your limited existence, so making something that can do it instead of requiring somebody is a win. And it’s kind of tough to make a case against the existence of sexbots that isn’t based in prudishness as long as they really are 100% non-sapient and not based on a specific real person.
Whether robot slaves or robot sextoys the non-sapient bit is not hard: recursive agent-state prediction in artificial neural networks (an essential component of “real” AGI, since we do it daily) is a completely unsolved problem. Not embedding that functionality into a sexbot is really easy given we currently have neither the AI nor the sexbot, and still pretty easy if the AI part gets solved later on since you can just continue developing whatever collection of models came immediately prior (*rimshot*, *glare*) in a separate branch.
So, yeah, it looks horrifying through the lens of our current values but it’s the future and that is and always will be exciting to me.
posted by Ryvar at 1:50 PM on June 26 [2 favorites]
This isn’t going to be one of my more popular ones
But it should be Ryvar, as much as I love the snark and grarrr there are many potential goods from technology, although in this case the images should've been buried in a very boring tech paper, eek. I prefaced my pre comment with "robot revolution" and I do think it's the way for Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism or another variant.
And it needs well thought commentary.
No one knows what an actually useful robot will look like, and the movies have put so many non-useful memes in folks head it's impossible for a reasonable discussion to occur. Mifi should be one of those places to address these future society topics with thought, rigor and humor. How do we get there?
posted by sammyo at 2:26 PM on June 26 [2 favorites]
But it should be Ryvar, as much as I love the snark and grarrr there are many potential goods from technology, although in this case the images should've been buried in a very boring tech paper, eek. I prefaced my pre comment with "robot revolution" and I do think it's the way for Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism or another variant.
And it needs well thought commentary.
No one knows what an actually useful robot will look like, and the movies have put so many non-useful memes in folks head it's impossible for a reasonable discussion to occur. Mifi should be one of those places to address these future society topics with thought, rigor and humor. How do we get there?
posted by sammyo at 2:26 PM on June 26 [2 favorites]
Thanks sammyo, been a bleugh day and that made me feel less alien.
posted by Ryvar at 2:45 PM on June 26
posted by Ryvar at 2:45 PM on June 26
get used to it, it's the next AI - you'll have to talk to a skin-blob-face in order to do a Google search starting soon
posted by Cookiebastard at 2:57 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by Cookiebastard at 2:57 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
>A self-healing outer covering probably is a good idea. I don't know that it has to look like human skin though.
Do you want teletubbies?
Yes?
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:19 PM on June 26 [2 favorites]
Do you want teletubbies?
Yes?
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:19 PM on June 26 [2 favorites]
But that doesn’t make any sense: why would anybody want more people with rights?
Programmable voters? I can see a market.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:20 PM on June 26
Programmable voters? I can see a market.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:20 PM on June 26
Forgive me, but hard pessimist here - I think the Oligarchs want William Gibson's jackpot.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jackpot_trilogy
Despite stealing their unfathomable fortunes by making freakin apps, they're eugenicists at heart and only want 'people' on the spectrum of Servants to Serfs to Slaves.
Despite being disgusting narcissistic blights on the species, they know the climate disaster is an unstoppable force likely bringing a horrifying impact on 'civilization. Idiotic schemes like robots replacing humans is ridiculous sci fi wet dreams to these people. They believe, hey, 'we dont need all these useless humans' and 'think of the benefit to the planet if there were far far fewer around'.
The robot replacing humans fantasy is not going to happen, but it doesn't mean the Oligarchs will do anything but cause harm to millions then billions. This weirdo scheme is just another in a long line of stupid schemes to cement their glorious rule.
Skin grafts, yup, great - grow replacement skin in a bioreactor. Not this skin on robots idiocy.
posted by WatTylerJr at 3:56 PM on June 26 [3 favorites]
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jackpot_trilogy
Despite stealing their unfathomable fortunes by making freakin apps, they're eugenicists at heart and only want 'people' on the spectrum of Servants to Serfs to Slaves.
Despite being disgusting narcissistic blights on the species, they know the climate disaster is an unstoppable force likely bringing a horrifying impact on 'civilization. Idiotic schemes like robots replacing humans is ridiculous sci fi wet dreams to these people. They believe, hey, 'we dont need all these useless humans' and 'think of the benefit to the planet if there were far far fewer around'.
The robot replacing humans fantasy is not going to happen, but it doesn't mean the Oligarchs will do anything but cause harm to millions then billions. This weirdo scheme is just another in a long line of stupid schemes to cement their glorious rule.
Skin grafts, yup, great - grow replacement skin in a bioreactor. Not this skin on robots idiocy.
posted by WatTylerJr at 3:56 PM on June 26 [3 favorites]
that's a doctor who villain
Yes, but a different one.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:53 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
Yes, but a different one.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:53 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
The robot replacing humans fantasy is not going to happen
I'll give you the fantasy, but it started years ago, movable type, washing machines, and it will continue. Not Jetsons style or ultra androids but a new tool will show up like the cell phone that in a short time folks will ruminate "what did we do before (helpful widget)".
Now when?? I have cynicism when it comes to LLM dudes suggesting soon. And to be practical a huge infrastructure of parts needs to exists and they really don't know what parts are actually workable, effective or useful. Oh and batteries, chemistry is hard ;-)
posted by sammyo at 5:19 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
I'll give you the fantasy, but it started years ago, movable type, washing machines, and it will continue. Not Jetsons style or ultra androids but a new tool will show up like the cell phone that in a short time folks will ruminate "what did we do before (helpful widget)".
Now when?? I have cynicism when it comes to LLM dudes suggesting soon. And to be practical a huge infrastructure of parts needs to exists and they really don't know what parts are actually workable, effective or useful. Oh and batteries, chemistry is hard ;-)
posted by sammyo at 5:19 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]
"Another important challenge is creating human-like expressions by integrating sophisticated actuators, or muscles, inside the robot," Prof Takeuchi said.
The Dude: "Well, I still jerk off manually."
posted by AlSweigart at 7:15 PM on June 26
The Dude: "Well, I still jerk off manually."
posted by AlSweigart at 7:15 PM on June 26
(Fade in on a man in a small library, sitting on a desk. All the books are paperback science novels from the 1980s and '90s. A man sits on a desk, reading a book by William Gibson, and looks up at us.)
"Oh! Hi, I didn't see you there. You know, we talk a lot about 'cyberpunk.' But somewhere in all these dusty old books about 'hacking the planet,' a great idea got lost." (Closes book) "Sex robots."
He stands. "Through time immemorial, man has longed to have sex with his robot, and why not? Roomba, you little minx! I see you twitching your saucy can, ha ha. But what's kept it from happening is the realistic feel of laboratory-grown flesh stretched over a wire frame, hot and pulsing with agony and a deep sense of existential dread. 'OHHH, why am I here? Why did you make me, God?' Ha ha ha. Why do you think, you dirty little searcher for meaning?
"Now, for just a little more than you pay for your lonely, sweaty little desperation-haunted trailer home each month..."
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:42 AM on June 27 [6 favorites]
"Oh! Hi, I didn't see you there. You know, we talk a lot about 'cyberpunk.' But somewhere in all these dusty old books about 'hacking the planet,' a great idea got lost." (Closes book) "Sex robots."
He stands. "Through time immemorial, man has longed to have sex with his robot, and why not? Roomba, you little minx! I see you twitching your saucy can, ha ha. But what's kept it from happening is the realistic feel of laboratory-grown flesh stretched over a wire frame, hot and pulsing with agony and a deep sense of existential dread. 'OHHH, why am I here? Why did you make me, God?' Ha ha ha. Why do you think, you dirty little searcher for meaning?
"Now, for just a little more than you pay for your lonely, sweaty little desperation-haunted trailer home each month..."
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:42 AM on June 27 [6 favorites]
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Finally! Work for the Cenobytes!
Also, perhaps, CW: These pictures may haunt your dreams.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:52 AM on June 26 [13 favorites]