Alphabet Google Robots: Perfect for the Family and Similar Use Cases? Nope.

April 1, 2016

Editor’s Note: No April Fool’s Day fun.This is as real as it gets.

I read “Google Steps Away from Humanoid Robot PR Problem.” Google, the math and science club outfit, bought Boston Dynamics. This is a robot company which crafts confections for some interesting applications. Does war fighting with autonomous robots ring your chimes? Well, that’s too bad.

Google acquired the nifty robot maker. The gadgets are really cool in my opinion.

What child can resist a couple of robot dogs?

Is there a pre-school teacher alive unable to turn down the offer of a robot assistant the give the three year olds a cookie and some milk?

Recently there were snaps and a video of a human (always spoilsports when it comes to spiffy technology) trying to topple a Google / Boston Dynamics robot.

According to the write up:

Several robots shaped like humanoids or four-legged creatures were being developed by Boston Dynamics, a robotics company bought by Google for $500 million at the end of 2013. For years, Boston Dynamics has been famous for posting online videos showing its walking robots maintaining their balance despite being kicked and shoved by the company’s human employees. One of the latest videos of the Atlas humanoid robot, published in February 2016, triggered a slew of YouTube comments that described the robot as “terrifying” or referenced Hollywood’s “Terminator” films about an artificial intelligence called Skynet destroying humanity. Such reactions apparently made Google’s public-relations team wary of wading into the online debate, according to Bloomberg News.

The Alphabet Google thing may come to regret its decision.

What happens if a Boston Dynamics’ robot reads a news story about the terrifying, Skynet future a robot poses? What happens if the robot is self actualized and catches a flight to SFO to resolve the matter?

Yikes. Traffic on 101 will be screwed up that day.

Stephen E Arnold, April 1, 2015

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Acquisition, Google, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.