Robotic Nation Evidence

Score One for the Robo-Tutors "In experiments at six public universities, students assigned randomly to statistics courses that relied heavily on “machine-guided learning” software -- with reduced face time with instructors -- did just as well, in less time, as their counterparts in traditional, instructor-centric versions of the courses."

Are you an employer experiencing labor unrest because of low wages or poor working conditions? The easiest way to eliminate that problem is to replace the workers with machines, according to this article:

Using Propaganda to Stop China's Strikes

After Hong Kong’s Milo’s Knitwear (International) added new Japanese knitting machines at its Dongguan sweater factory, it reduced line workers from 80 to 6. “All the headaches, the riots—gone,” says Managing Director Willy Lin. “Machines don’t complain about their salaries.”

This is why robots will always be the preferred worker, and new robots will be rapidly deployed to replace workers as soon as the robots become available.

The title says it all:

Drones: A deeply unsettling future

The technology itself is also developing at an alarmingly rapid pace. The New York Times reports that researchers in the US are working on "shrinking unmanned drones, the kind that fire missiles into Pakistan and spy on insurgents in Afghanistan, to the size of insects", along with oversized drones that can capture video of an entire city. There are birdlike drones, underwater drones, drones within drones, facial recognition drones, and perhaps most terrifying, completely autonomous drones - currently being tested in Georgia - which will require no human control at all.

As Micah Zenko, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told me last month, "It's a very impressive and responsive tool that should be used sparingly. Even if we’re responsible now, we might not be forever."

But in the US, drones will become yet another way authorities can compromise the privacy of ordinary citizens, as the FAA plans to propose new rules for their domestic flight. As Newsweek reported, police forces and border patrols in the US are buying the technology from defence contractors, and one has already been spotted flying over Houston. Police departments are already using GPS and cell phone tracking without warrants, this will another powerful surveillance weapon in their arsenal. As privacy advocates warn, "drones can easily be equipped with facial recognition cameras, infrared cameras, or open Wi-Fi sniffers". And while these drones will be used for many surveillance purposes (a scary thought in and of itself), contractors admit they are equipped to carry weapons, such as Tasers.

With the refinement of self-driving cars, drones on the street are not too far away.

With the development of Watson, IBM showed the world what computers can do with vast text databases like Wikipedia. In Watson's case, the goal was to win at Jeopardy. Now that same kind of technology is being deployed to win at science:

Scientists are developing a computer that can read vast amounts of scientific literature, make connections between facts and develop hypotheses

At the heart of CRAB, the development of which was funded by the Medical Research Council and the Swedish Research Council among others, is a taxonomy that specifies scientific evidence used in cancer risk assessment, including key events that may result in cancer formation. The system takes the textual content of each relevant MEDLINE abstract and classifies it according to the taxonomy. At the press of a button, a profile is rapidly built for any particular chemical using all of the available literature, describing highly specific patterns of connections between chemicals and toxicity.

“Although still under development, the system can be used to make connections that would be difficult to find, even if it had been possible to read all the documents,” added Dr. Korhonen. “In a recent experiment, we studied a group of chemicals with unknown mode of action and used the CRAB tool to suggest a new hypothesis that might explain their male-specific carcinogenicity in the pancreas.”

Imagine a vast network of robots tracking license plates. Once the network is complete, robots will know the location every car on the road:

License plate readers: A useful tool for police comes with privacy concerns

The plate readers are different from red-light or speed cameras, which issue traffic tickets and are tools for deterrence and enforcement. The readers are an investigative tool, capturing a picture of every license plate that passes by and instantly analyzing them against a database filled with cars wanted by police.

Police can also plug any license plate number into the database and, as long as it passed a camera, determine where that vehicle has been and when. Detectives also can enter a be-on-the-lookout into the database, and the moment that license plate passes a detector, they get an alert.

It’s that precision and the growing ubiquity of the technology that has libertarians worried. In Northern Virginia recently, a man reported his wife missing, prompting police to enter her plate number into the system.

They got a hit at an apartment complex, and when they got there, officers spotted her car and a note on her windshield that said, in essence, “Don’t tow, I’m visiting apartment 3C.” Officers knocked on the door of that apartment, and she came out of the bedroom. They advised her to call her husband.

Computer more accurate than human doctor at breast cancer diagnosis

Computer scientists and pathologists at Stanford University now have a computer system that can look a tissue sample and diagnose breast cancer more accurately than a human doctor. The computer system, called C-Path (Computational Pathologist), even went one step further and identified previously-undiscovered cellular structures that can be used by computers and humans alike to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer patients in the future.

How long before computers are better than human doctors at all forms of doctoring? The computer looks at symptoms, orders an optimized set of tests, discovers the illness and prescribes the optimal treatment.

Asimo is new and improved, with the ability to run, jump, open things with his hands, communicate in sign language and avoid obstacles. This video catalogs the latest abilities:

Asimo video

One day in the not too distant future robots like those will be seen walking down the street...

Police forces are in the process of turning from civilian organizations into military organizations, as explained here:

Cops With Machine Guns: How the War on Terror Has Militarized the Police

The most serious consequence of the rapid militarization of American police forces, however, is the subtle evolution in the mentality of the "men in blue" from "peace officer" to soldier. This development is absolutely critical and represents a fundamental change in the nature of law enforcement. The primary mission of a police officer traditionally has been to "keep the peace." Those whom an officer suspects to have committed a crime are treated as just that - suspects. Police officers are expected, under the rule of law, to protect the civil liberties of all citizens, even the "bad guys." For domestic law enforcement, a suspect in custody remains innocent until proven guilty. Moreover, police officers operate among a largely friendly population and have traditionally been trained to solve problems using a complex legal system; the deployment of lethal violence is an absolute last resort.

Soldiers, by contrast, are trained to identify people they encounter as belonging to one of two groups -- the enemy and the non-enemy -- and they often reach this decision while surrounded by a population that considers the soldier an occupying force. Once this identification is made, a soldier's mission is stark and simple: kill the enemy, "try" not to kill the non-enemy. Indeed, the Soldier's Creed declares, "I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat." This is a far cry from the peace officer's creed that expects its adherents "to protect and serve."

What is the next step? The military uses robots and drones. Therefore we would expect police forces to use robots and drones. Imagine a protest. Imagine how a civilian police force would manage the situation. Then imagine how a military police force would manage it. Then imagine how robots with the ability to deploy lethal force would approach it. There are two possibilities:

1) If programmed aggressively, the robots incapacitate or kill the protesters.

2) If programmed rationally, the robots might be better at the job than militarized police because robots would execute the rules of engagement perfectly. A peaceful protest would be allowed to proceed. Any unruly members in the protest would be isolated and contained so the remaining protesters are free to go about their business.

The outcome depends on who gets to program the robots.

This article shows that trucks drivers could be near-term victims of robotic replacement:

Rio Tinto boosts number of driverless trucks

Rio Tinto says worker shortages contributed to a decision to boost the number of driverless trucks at its WA iron ore mines from ten to 150.

The trucks will be used at the company's Pilbara mine sites, controlled remotely from its operation centre in Perth, 1,500 kilometres away.

Rio Tinto says the purchase makes it the owner of the largest fleet of driverless trucks in the world.

Given that Google has been test-driving robot-controlled vehicles for over 100,000 miles without incident, it is easy to imagine robot-driven trucks making their appearance in the not-too-distant future.

Does information technology destroy or create jobs? Debate heats up

In the latest edition of MIT Technology Review, David Talbot reviewed Brynjolfsson and McAfee’s new book: Race Against The Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy, and pulls out the observation that the digital economy may be favoring that 1% at the top of the pyramid while sapping opportunities at lower levels of the economy.

The first decade of the 2000s was a time of accelerating technology, accompanied by stagnant employment growth, the authors point out. Employment fell by 1% during the past decade, compared to 20% growth in the 1980s and 1990s. This is no coincidence, Brynjolfsson and McAfee say. For example, increasing automation has dramatically reduced the need for customer service workers across many industries, such as airline reservations or directory assistance, the authors point out. MacAfee also points out that “certain kinds of document examination once done by armies of lawyers—can now be done competently by scanning technologies and software.”

A sobering article... People at every level of the economy are subject to robotic replacement.

An amazing video showing the PETMAN robot:



From the video description: "PETMAN is an anthropomorphic robot developed by Boston Dynamics for testing special clothing used by the US Army. PETMAN balances itself as it walks, squats and does simple calisthenics. PETMAN simulates human physiology by controlling temperature, humidity and sweating inside the clothing to provide realistic test conditions. PETMAN development is lead by Boston Dynamics, working in partnership with Measurement Technologies Northwest, Oak Ridge National Lab and MRIGlobal. The work is being done for the US Army PD-CCAT-TI. For more information about PETMAN visit us at www.BostonDynamics.com."

At this moment in history, IT jobs are generally considered to be "safe" from robotic encroachment. But it turns out cloud computing could have a huge negative effect on IT employment, as discussed here:

Cloud computing's real creative destruction may be the IT workforce

The upshot from cloud computing is that companies will need fewer data centers. People run data centers. Those jobs are likely to simply disappear.

Johan Jacobs and Ken Brant, two Gartner analysts, made the cloud computing-jobs connection last week at the Gartner Symposium in Orlando. The presentation was categorized as “maverick” in that it may not happen in the allotted time frame. Jacobs and Brant argued by 2020 demand for IT staff dedicated to supporting data centers will collapse.

“The long-run value proposition of IT is not to support the human workforce – it is to replace it,” wrote Gartner in its presentation. In other words, any job loss related to offshore outsourcing may look like a walk in the park once cloud computing gets rolling.

From the video's description:

Swarmanoid is a heterogeneous robot swarm in which different groups of robots have different capabilities: some robots are specialized in manipulating objects and climbing, some in moving on the ground and transporting objects, and some in flying and observing the environment from above. This video presents the Swarmanoid project

SMSS is a autonomous robot that carries gear, equipment and supplies for infantry soldiers. According to this page:

The largest unmanned vehicle ever deployed with U.S. ground forces, the Lockheed Martin Squad Mission Support System leverages robotic technologies for unmanned transport and logistical support for light, early entry and special operations forces. It solves capability gaps by lightening the Soldier’s load and serving as a power management resource.

The SMSS will decrease the amount of time a Warfighter has to spend in controlling robotic systems by providing vehicles that can navigate autonomously. The SMSS’ supervised autonomy will provide the Warfighter with a reliable squad-size vehicle, which will improve combat readiness, while assuring re-supply channels and casualty evacuations.

Combining perception with extraordinary mobility allows vehicles to follow the Warfighter across most terrain, guaranteeing the payload the robotic system is carrying will be available whenever and wherever the Warfighter needs it. Few other robotic systems allow for autonomy dependable enough for a vehicle to follow someone without the use of location-disclosing beacons. The vehicle can also operate by remote control, tele-operation or by manual control.

See it in action:

A robot with a sophisticated vision system and sophisticated arms is able to prune grape vines on a twig-by-twig basis:

Israelis' invulnerable, 60-tonne robot bulldozer force to double

From the article: "The regular D9, from Caterpillar, is an imposing brute. It weighs nearly 50 tonnes - reportedly more than 60 with IDF armour - boasts better than 450 horsepower, and is generally equipped with a normal bulldozer blade at the front and a "ripper" delving tool at the back. The Black Thunder unmanned version is fitted with cameras and remote actuators, and can operated unmanned or with a driver as may suit."

Driverless, Electric Taxis Set for UAE Debut

From the article:

The streets of Masdar City are said to be entirely free of traditional cars, so these podcars will be the only way of getting around short of taking a train, riding a bike, or just walking.

Robots ready to run the world

From the article:

An intensive study into the possible achievements of robots has allowed scientists to surmise there will be an amalgamation between humans and robots. Antonio Lopez Palaez, co-author of the research and a Professor of Sociology at Spain’s National Distance Learning University said,

“Just as we depend on mobile phones and cars in our daily lives, the next 15 years will see mass hybridization between humans and robots.”

It is believed the leisure and entertainment industries will benefit most from the “robotic revolution”. Due to unification between robots, computers and home entertainment there is expected to be a dramatic increase in robots in entertainment by the year 2011.

Morphing programmable matter gadgets could soon be a reality

From the article:

Researchers are just a few years away from bringing to life revolutionary morphing devices known as programmable matter which can change size, shape and function.

Programmable matter, or "claytronics", involves creating devices made of millions of microscopic robots that are to 3D objects what pixels are to a screen.

Shows a photo of a current prototype about 3cm across using magnets for connections in 2-D. Obviously that will have to shrink quite a bit, and 3-D connections are necessary.

SmartHand: Cyborg Limbs Will Feel Like User's Own

From the article:

SmartHand is a European collaborative project to develop a next-generation robotic prosthetic limb, and as part of the project Swedish researchers have successfully demonstrated a neat psychological trick that makes wearers feel like an artificial limb is actually part of their body.

New Army technology could save soldiers' lives

From the article:

This remotely controlled robot, called BEAR, could help remove injured soldiers from battlefields.

Robots

From the article:

Robotic systems continue to evolve, slowly penetrating many areas of our lives, from manufacturing, medicine and remote exploration to entertainment, security and personal assistance. Developers in Japan are currently building robots to assist the elderly, while NASA develops the next generation of space explorers, and artists are exploring new avenues of entertainment. Collected here are a handful of images of our recent robotic past, and perhaps a glimpse into the near future. (32 photos total)

These are great photos of some of today's latest robotic advancements.

Robots could replace army medics in battle

From the article:

In 10 years' time the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital may be replaced by a "Trauma Pod" manned by robot surgeons and nurses.

A prototype already undergoing trials contains a three-armed remotely controlled robotic surgeon - the equivalent of Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce, played by Alan Alda in the M*A*S*H series.

Autonomous Robots Invade Retail Warehouses