By J. Kb

19 thoughts on “I’m gonna need an M-25 phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range”
  1. Given that computers still cannot figure out the difference between “[Mystreetname] Street” and “[Mystreetname] Court,” I’m not too worried about the robot uprising yet.

    1. Doubly so since self-driving cars still have a hard time telling box trucks from clouds, reflective road markers from lights shining on the road, and road signs from people.

      I can avoid trouble by dressing in a green, threadbare hoodie and standing still. If there’s any doubt, I’ll just hang a sign around my neck that says, “Hello, I am a ficus.”

      1. Yep. Dates back to avoiding people who were sick or crazy (usually the latter).

        Uncanny valley is a really fascinating trait though. It’s interesting to see where the ‘dip’ occurs in recognition and acceptance.

  2. Reading about this plus the news the other day about “team of scientists builds first living robots that can reproduce” makes me think that the warning Michael Crichton gave us with Jurassic Park is getting uncomfortably closer to reality.

    ***Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.***

  3. Just let me have a schematic that identifies the power source and the control computer. Don’t be distracted by the bobbly head on top.

  4. Everyone who learned programming back in the ancient days when I did probably will never forget a little limerick that used to be in on the walls in the rooms where the terminals were kept.

    I really hate this damned machine
    I wish that they would sell it.
    It never does do what I want
    Only what I tell it.

    From everything I can tell, under the elastomers and human-like motions, that’s all that’s going on there. Or anywhere.

    AI might kill you because some stupid ass programmer left a semicolon in the code where the line was supposed to end and all the software inspection and software quality control didn’t find you. It won’t kill you because it’s evil.

    AI seems to be nothing but a sped-up version of going through massive amounts of If-Then statements.

    1. Actually, AI is rather worse than that. The term generally means: a software construct built in such a way that its properties are unknown and unknowable.

      By definition, AI is unfit for any safety critical function because by definition its properties are not amenable to safety certification.

Only one rule: Don't be a dick.

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