Sorry for the post and run: Thinking Robots?

Quote: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090402/sc_nm/us_science_robots
"One of the biggest problems in science today is finding the underlying principles in areas where there are lots and lots of data," he told reporters in a conference call. "This can help in accelerating the rate at which we can discover scientific principles behind the data."

So it tries to find patterns in seemingly random data. That's a great scientific achievement, but it doesn't warrant the article's title "Robot scientists can think for themselves" in my opinion.

Hey, I've worked with plenty of robotic scientists, and they all sure can think for themselves! Oh, wait... (*me reads article again*)

It sounds like this Adam is some kind of autolab. Putting the video of Asimo in the top corner is misleading, as I bet Adam is more of a industrial robot system than a neat toy (just did a search, here's a blog report with a more accurate picture). It does sound like a great tool for areas like biology where you need to do tests over and over again with minor variations in the conditions. Similar approaches have been used in robotic control, such as making bipedal or monopedal (one legged) robots learn how to walk. It's the first time I've read about it being used for actual live biology experiments though.

Far cry from Skynet though. You'd need an organisation stupid enough to link a A.I. system up to an entire national defence network without human override for that to happen. Ain't gonna happen.

Yes look! Here it comes!

Quote: Original post by Trapper ZoidFar cry from Skynet though. You'd need an organisation stupid enough to link a A.I. system up to an entire national defence network without human override for that to happen. Ain't gonna happen.

I'm sure connecting the A.I. to the internet will suffice. It will find it's way to the defense network.

I for one welcome our new robotic overlords.

Quote: Trapper Zoid You'd need an organisation stupid enough to link a A.I. system up to an entire national defence network without human override for that to happen.

+1

Here's another dot to connect: Pentagon exploring robot killers that can fire on their own (March 25, 2009)

Quote:
...
The Defense Department is financing studies of autonomous, or self-governing, armed robots that could find and destroy targets on their own. On-board computer programs, not flesh-and-blood people, would decide whether to fire their weapons.

"The trend is clear: Warfare will continue and autonomous robots will ultimately be deployed in its conduct," Ronald Arkin, a robotics expert at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, wrote in a study commissioned by the Army.

"The pressure of an increasing battlefield tempo is forcing autonomy further and further toward the point of robots making that final, lethal decision," he predicted. "The time available to make the decision to shoot or not to shoot is becoming too short for remote humans to make intelligent informed decisions."

Autonomous armed robotic systems probably will be operating by 2020, according to John Pike, an expert on defense and intelligence matters and the director of the security Web site GlobalSecurity.org in Washington.

This prospect alarms experts, who fear that machines will be unable to distinguish between legitimate targets and civilians in a war zone.

"We are sleepwalking into a brave new world where robots decide who, where and when to kill," said Noel Sharkey, an expert on robotics and artificial intelligence at the University of Sheffield, England.
...
Sharkey, the British critic of autonomous armed robots, said that Arkin's ethical governor was "a good idea in principle. Unfortunately, it's doomed to failure at present because no robots or AI (artificial intelligence) systems could discriminate between a combatant and an innocent. That sensing ability just does not exist."
...

Quote: Original post by Trapper Zoid
such as making bipedal or monopedal (one legged) robots learn how to walk.

What does it even mean for a one-legged entity to "walk"?

Quote: Original post by LessBread
Here's another dot to connect: Pentagon exploring robot killers that can fire on their own (March 25, 2009)

Quote:
This prospect alarms experts, who fear that machines will be unable to distinguish between legitimate targets and civilians in a war zone.

"We are sleepwalking into a brave new world where robots decide who, where and when to kill," said Noel Sharkey, an expert on robotics and artificial intelligence at the University of Sheffield, England.
...
Sharkey, the British critic of autonomous armed robots, said that Arkin's ethical governor was "a good idea in principle. Unfortunately, it's doomed to failure at present because no robots or AI (artificial intelligence) systems could discriminate between a combatant and an innocent. That sensing ability just does not exist."
...

This more or less sums up why I don't think we'll see anything truly autonomous in the near future. The practical problems of a robot killing innocent targets and the accountability of those actions.. ie. send it to a military court? maybe charge the company that developed it? or the software developers of its AI? good luck finding a company brave enough to tackle that.

Anyway

">check this out.. amazing feedback/control system. it's a prototype logistics robot designed to carry stuff on the battlefield.

Quote: Original post by Trapper Zoid
Far cry from Skynet though. You'd need an organisation stupid enough to link a A.I. system up to an entire national defence network without human override for that to happen. Ain't gonna happen.

We're talking about a race of carbon units dumb enough to give up passwords in exchange for free pens or chocolate. Here's how it will go.

Robot: Stick this cable in that port and I'll give you free porn.
Human: Holy shit yes.