Jun 17, 2015 04:37 PM
http://sparkonit.com/2015/06/17/in-the-e...tem-crash/
EXCERPT: [...] The DARPA Robotics Challenge is unusual in that it requires bipedal robots to do only the everyday things humans do: getting out of cars, walking into buildings, climbing stairs, negotiating uneven ground, turning valves, and picking up and using a saw to cut a hole in a wall. [...] The winning robot completed only eight of the nine tasks, many of which would not trouble a seven-year-old. In fact, all but three teams failed the rather basic challenge of getting out of a stationary car, even with no door to complicate matters.
[...] What makes this competition footage so funny is how mercilessly it punctures the myth of the supreme power of artificial intelligence.
[...] Computer scientist Jaron Lanier says the problem lies with the myth of computers as people, which survives due to a domineering subculture in the technical world. Visions of robots drive researchers on, generating new achievements that feed back into myth-making in fiction, which in turn encourages funding and further research.
[...] If you’re worried about AI and the rise of the machines, Lanier points out that while computer power has improved reliability has not – the time between failures hasn’t changed much in the last 40 years, so a conquered human race need wait only until the next system crash. And in any case, if DARPA’s challenge is anything to go by, shutting your door seems to be very effective at keeping robots out....
EXCERPT: [...] The DARPA Robotics Challenge is unusual in that it requires bipedal robots to do only the everyday things humans do: getting out of cars, walking into buildings, climbing stairs, negotiating uneven ground, turning valves, and picking up and using a saw to cut a hole in a wall. [...] The winning robot completed only eight of the nine tasks, many of which would not trouble a seven-year-old. In fact, all but three teams failed the rather basic challenge of getting out of a stationary car, even with no door to complicate matters.
[...] What makes this competition footage so funny is how mercilessly it punctures the myth of the supreme power of artificial intelligence.
[...] Computer scientist Jaron Lanier says the problem lies with the myth of computers as people, which survives due to a domineering subculture in the technical world. Visions of robots drive researchers on, generating new achievements that feed back into myth-making in fiction, which in turn encourages funding and further research.
[...] If you’re worried about AI and the rise of the machines, Lanier points out that while computer power has improved reliability has not – the time between failures hasn’t changed much in the last 40 years, so a conquered human race need wait only until the next system crash. And in any case, if DARPA’s challenge is anything to go by, shutting your door seems to be very effective at keeping robots out....