The Robot Revolution is Here, and Growing

Here's an article from technology review. I think this will quickly change the world and because these machines will be able to learn, there might end up being a super intelligence that can learn much faster than humans and it doesn't have to deal with the distractions humans have like watching their favorite show, falling in love or going on vacation.

If you have been following technology news, you might be wondering if robots are about to take over our lives. Google in particular has made a slew of robotics acquisitions: the company bought eight robotics companies in the second half of last year, including Boston Dynamics, a maker of legged robots that can balance well enough to climb over obstacles and run, and it recently agreed to buy drone maker Titan Aerospace, whose robotic aircraft could help bring the Internet to remote parts of the world.

What does it all mean? At the least, companies like Google are anticipating business trends. These companies know that robotics is important, maybe even revolutionary. But if a revolution is coming to the consumer market, what will it look like? And why would it happen now?

If you’re waiting for an invasion of walking, talking, anthropomorphic robots, the coming changes will surprise you. In fact, many have already occurred. Robots are already an essential part of modern civilization, but they have mainly performed static, repetitive tasks (dispensing cash as ATMs, for example). Now, thanks to trends including the plunging prices of certain technology components, robots will soon be able to tackle an array of more complex, varied tasks with greater degrees of autonomy and intelligence.

It goes on to talk about how smartphones an the PC changed lives but this will be more profound because these will be machines that can learn.

The smartphone and PC revolutions have given us valuable precedents for studying this market. Once we can make useful devices affordable enough, an entire industry of thinkers, engineers, and inventors will spring up to address the rising demand. In fact, we’ll probably see an app store for robot hardware as well.

Indeed, trying to predict where the robotics industry is headed feels like holding your first iPhone in 2007 and imagining how it would become part of our lives—it’s exciting to ponder what the future holds, but impossible to know. When it introduced the first iPhone, Apple had created an extraordinary piece of technology. But more important, it had produced an affordable product. We can now do the same with robots, and the possible applications are endless.

www.technologyreview.com...

I try to keep up with the last in robotics and machine learning and this space is growing pretty fast.

I'm all for robots, they could make our lives so much more enjoyable, but until we get shot of the mentality that everyone must work, they will only cause problems.

Where will we work when robots take our jobs?

a reply to: VoidHawk

They already applied at Wal-mart, they're called the automated checkout

originally posted by: Illiberation
a reply to: VoidHawk

They already applied at Wal-mart, they're called the automated checkout

We're seeing them here in the uk too. Rows of automated checkouts with just a security guard standing near them. The security guard will be on minimum wage too!

I've got a Robot vacuum cleaner. It's called Neato. He's taken over my vacuuming job. I don't mind.

I've had stern words to him regarding becoming self aware. He's promised not to.

originally posted by: TRiPWiRE
I've got a Robot vacuum cleaner. It's called Neato. He's taken over my vacuuming job. I don't mind.

I've had stern words to him regarding becoming self aware. He's promised not to.

Lie mode!

They test the waters to see how much they can get away with. People accepted robotic vacuums, toys, auto checkouts. Inculcated through years of sci fi programming and "future technology" to think it is the future no questions asked. It's safer, quicker, cleaner, everyone wins. Except the ones they never show. And even then it's romanticized.

They're useful and safer in many instances, I won't deny that but it's another hint that we as a large population are not needed. We never truly were but the shadow of giant robots, efficiency and ultimately population control is getting larger.

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
They test the waters to see how much they can get away with. People accepted robotic vacuums, toys, auto checkouts. Inculcated through years of sci fi programming and "future technology" to think it is the future no questions asked. It's safer, quicker, cleaner, everyone wins. Except the ones they never show. And even then it's romanticized.

They're useful and safer in many instances, I won't deny that but it's another hint that we as a large population are not needed. We never truly were but the shadow of giant robots, efficiency and ultimately population control is getting larger.

Spot on
Its what I was getting at when I posted "Where will we work when robots take our jobs? "

originally posted by: TRiPWiRE
I've got a Robot vacuum cleaner. It's called Neato. He's taken over my vacuuming job. I don't mind.

I've had stern words to him regarding becoming self aware. He's promised not to.

I had one of those, but there was a little kitty in the house at the same time. Let's just say the little kitty had a habit of pooping far far away from the litter box, and the robot had a habit of finding the kitty poop and dragging it across the floor.

Then I remembered I hate cats. And robots creep me out.

a reply to: neoholographic

This is going to sound controversial but in all honesty I think the world was a better place before mobile's, internet and electronic computer's, those little job's they now do used to be job's for people, the office block's and skysrapers of New York where built for a vast workforce to do there job's, now barely a handful of those people are still employed whith modern media having removed most of the work.
There is no doubting we are more advanced and you can never turn back time, humanity has to grow and develop or the alternative is extinction but are we growing in the right direction's?.
I think that the cat is out of the box and no one will ever put it back in so perhaps in the grand scheme of thing's a symbiosis of technology and humanity or even a total artificial replacement of our race is innevitable but what kind of world with a bunch of soul less machine's even if they are fantastically advanced with artifial intelligence really build for themselve's and will any vestige of humanity remain in there Zoo's or will they be content to run perfect simulations of us when they want to delve there own history which will be never as machine's archive but they do not forget.

Mechanizing and computerizing everything is only going to lead us to obesity and laziness, (as if that's not already happened...)

originally posted by: VoidHawk
I'm all for robots, they could make our lives so much more enjoyable, but until we get shot of the mentality that everyone must work, they will only cause problems.

Where will we work when robots take our jobs?

I'll be happy working in my garden or on my motorcycle. Workers of the world, RELAX!

a reply to: neoholographic

There's a real problem with robot proliferation - robots are not people !

Robots don't have don't use credit cards , they have no payroll accounts to finance and service , they don't buy cars or gas , they don't pay traffic tickets ... no one finances survivor benefits if they get killed at war .

There are so many ways that banks make money on people - even poor unemployed people , that there will be real resistance to robots .

And with nobody working - who will buy the products and services robots provide ? I think robots would already be everywhere ( not just high - tech aviation and automotive factories ) already , but for this basic financial resistance.

originally posted by: Sparkymedic

originally posted by: VoidHawk
I'm all for robots, they could make our lives so much more enjoyable, but until we get shot of the mentality that everyone must work, they will only cause problems.

Where will we work when robots take our jobs?

I'll be happy working in my garden or on my motorcycle. Workers of the world, RELAX!

Me too, but do you think tptb would allow that?

originally posted by: VoidHawk

originally posted by: Sparkymedic

originally posted by: VoidHawk
I'm all for robots, they could make our lives so much more enjoyable, but until we get shot of the mentality that everyone must work, they will only cause problems.

Where will we work when robots take our jobs?

I'll be happy working in my garden or on my motorcycle. Workers of the world, RELAX!

Me too, but do you think tptb would allow that?

I personally think that they don't have a choice. As capitalism continues, competition will inevitably force automation on a grand scale. Hopefully by then we will be ready to live in a sane society. As opposed to this crap we are all a part of.