Mech Wars - Not where we want to go!

This excellent article by Frank Pasquale, published in The Guardian, highlights the rise of militarized AI and the various scenarios of how it may play out and possibly be "managed." Essential reading for today's rapidly evolving global perspective.

Top 'bots!

Here's an interesting on-line article in DesignBoom, showcasing some of the top robots of 2017.

The Singularity is only 30 years away, are you ready?

Many futurists predict the singularity is only 30 years away. For sure, there will be far more change in the next 40 years than in the previous to date. I sure hope the AIs, soon to be with us, choose to prefer Asimov's three laws more than "SkyNet" or "the Matrix". As discussed in a recent article, physicist and author Louis Del Monte speculates that they will surpass, and eventually become annoyed with us (yikes!) I've picked up a copy and started reading Del Monte's book to learn more about his perspective.

Are we ready for the impact of robots?

The military is one front where disruptive technologies (such as the Internet itself) first appear and "proof of concept" is established. So, it's rather sobering to see how fast plans for deploying robotics in the military are progressing - likely starting with supply couriers.

In my opinion, it's just a matter of time before orchestrated platoons of robotic soldiers become feasible. There are already significant strides being made in environmental sensors and muscle emulation, which will help such units to integrate with human troops while becoming a real pain in the posterior for opposing forces.

Such platoons are scary. They might become sold and leveraged into essentially unassailable mercenary forces, highly efficient killing units, for better or worse. And, there is the approaching singularity where robots (and possibly AIs) will start building robots, too, making easy proliferation another challenge. Hmm, are Terminators and SkyNet on the eventual horizon? Let's hope not!

Robots invade kitchens in Portugal

Here's an interesting article about practical application of robotics in the home that's developing a strong demand and following in Portugal and Europe. Not available in the U.S. yet, but I think it will likely do well here, too.

Google solidly plants its stake in Robotics

Search may have sparked Google's beginning but it's now moving hard and fast into Robotics. With this week's acquisition of Boston Dynamics, and several earlier Robotics related acquisitions, Google is positioning itself as a major player in the field.

Scary? Perhaps. I find it somewhat anxiety-raising when one large company moves to put itself in the significant position to call the shots - hopefully they'll remember that motto, "Do no evil!"

Things to come

The Open Innovation Forum shares some interesting perspectives on how technology is changing the human race and will continue to do so ahead.

Creepy robotics

This stuff is downright creepy to me. I guess I've read one too many Sci Fi stories about robots used for nefarious purposes. These surely give pause for concern - and unfortunately the trend is only likely to continue. It looks like drones are just the tip of the iceberg, folks.

• WildCat: You can't outrun it
• M-Blocks: No assembly required
• Atlas: Drones hit the ground running?
• Alpha Dog: The next war horse?

Don't count that you can out-run that robot

Check out this interesting article on onmiwheels, robots will be able to change direction much faster than we can ;-)

Amazing robots

Check out the specialized robots from Olin College. The robofish variants are amazing!