Ha! I won $120 playing poker on the internet (Off of a $20 investment).
I know I should only be writing about Gyne, but this is my journal and I'm going to show you guys some of my writing. I'm a writer by the way. I write for a bunch of magazines in Vancouver. I love writing.
Here is an essay I wrote on Robotics and it's use in the military. Maybe one day I'll write about this experience.
{Asimo does not have a gender as Asimo is a robot. I will refer to Asimo as a "He" For the purposes of this report.}
Asimo gets his gun
Meet Asimo. He's an advanced Humanoid robot developed by the Technology Division of Honda for the purpose of interacting with Humans in their environment. Asimo can walk forward and backward, up and down stairs, navigating most kinds of terrain with ease and precision - and without direction from a human controller. Asimo can recognize voices as well as the faces that accompany them. Give Asimo a command and he will bend to your wishes without complaint. Presently Asimo's skills are limited to simple tasks such as walking, dancing and opening doors, but the possibilities for a robotic humanoid are endless and Honda has many upgrades in store. Asimo is a marvel of modern technology and a leap forward in the evolution of mankind's ingenuity. Asimo is also the great Granddaddy of robots that will be used to kill.
Honda started their "Walking Humanoid" program in 1989 with the intention of creating the world's first independently functional walking humanoid. I have seen the videos of Asimo walking and interacting with his human trainers; he moves in an eerily natural way. So graceful is Asimo in his mechanical ballet that one might question whether there isn't a small child stationed inside the robotic shell. According to their website, Honda wants to have production grade Asimo's installed in consumer's homes for use as "Personal Assistants" as early as 2010. Here is what Honda thinks of Asimo in their own words. "The first two-legged walking humanoid represents the fruition of engineerszeal to create an innovative kind of mobility that brings a whole new value to human society in perfect co-existence and harmony. Indeed, mans dream has taken the first but steady step into the future as the robot steps forward." Perfect co-existence and harmony? I am sure you have all heard the story about the robots that eventually tire of their slave-like dependency on humans and gain an awareness of self-preservation - thus causing them to arise and destroy their inefficient-fleshy Masters. It is as if Asimo's creators are already reacting to yet unspoken criticism.
The day I first saw Asimo on T.V., he was dancing with a pretty girl and walking in cute little circles, enthralling the hearts and minds of civilians throughout the world. After my amazement had faded slightly, I recalled upon a conversation I had with my roommate a week prior when I told him that Humans would see, in our lifetime, giant robots (or what some call 'Mechs') being used for the purposes of construction, but most likely military applications. "Piss off." was his reply. This was a completely valid response considering I had no sufficient evidence to back my claim. Ok, maybe there won't be 'Mechs' as we recognize from Saturday morning television, but the military is definitely looking the way of the robot and the military will be the force that drives the evolution of this technology.
In comes DARPA: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA are the 'Knights of the Round Table' in the American Defense and Technology Sector. Here is a mission statement off of their website. "DARPA’s mission is to maintain the technological superiority of the U.S. military and prevent technological surprise from harming our national security by sponsoring revolutionary, high-payoff research that bridges the gap between fundamental discoveries and their military use." "Technological superiority", That's some not so subtle newspeak for "We will build the bigger gun first". These are the guys that really pissed of Einstein. DARPA'S projects are varied and diverse, but this essay will focus on just a few of their projects involving advanced robotics and artificial intelligence.
The Swarm project is a joint effort between the AI company Icosystems and robotics company I-Robot. Darpa licensed these companies to fit 120 I-Robot built machines with Swarm Technology's Swarm AI. The Swarm technology mimics the behaviour of insects. Insects use pheromones to determine the quickest route to their target destination, as seen most notably in ant trails. Through repetition involving trial and error, the trail becomes stronger and more efficient at directing the swarm towards its target. The military says that it could possibly use this technology for the purposes of mine clearing and/or search and rescue. Hundreds of robots moving in a great swarm is the last thing one might want to be 'rescued' by.
The University of Berkley has developed what it calls a "Lower Extremity Exoskeleton” for the U.S. Military. This system is essentially a robotic set of legs powered by a backpack-mounted generator that allows soldiers to carry up to 500 pounds at great speed as if they were carrying a mere 5 pounds. You simply step into the robot leg-suit and walk as you normally would. The demo video on the Berkley website has a young university student stomping back and forth across the floor like he's a fledgling Terminator. It's difficult not imagine the devastation a group of soldiers strapped into heavily armored robot suits might wreak on an enemy compound. The project so far is only limited by the weight of the motor the occupant must carry.
One of the most chilling projects I discovered on Darpa's website was the "Self-Healing Mine" project. It is essentially, a land mine field that forms a communication grid in between each bomb residing on the grid. If there is a breach in the mine field's perimeter, the AI will move the bombs short distances, using tiny jump rockets in order to fill the gaps in the perimeter. The enemy, in theory, will fall into the same trap numerous times. Yes, another excellent idea from the Human race: mines that move themselves.
Onward we march into the future, following the quest for knowledge and power. I still believe we will see Mechs in our lifetime whether we like it or not. The pieces are falling into place. The Japanese have been worshipping and embracing the concept of beautiful robotic killing machines through various art forms for generations. We as westerners only seem to embrace concepts that make our lives easier right now. Why pay someone to haul garbage, shoot a gun or fight a fire when a robot can do it for you? Why work beyond controlling these machines? They will become the mandatory workforce whether the requirement be building or destroying. This has been foreseen in the dreams of scientists, writers and philosophers since the invention of the wheel. Einstein once said "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." Visionaries like him have also foreseen the stupidity of giving problem-solving abilities to a tool. Humans are obviously a problem if you look at us from any point of view other than our own.
Anthony Newton
Sources
http://world.honda.com/ASIMO/http://www.darpa.mil/http://www.darpa.mil/ato/programs/tmr.htmhttp://www.dres.dnd.ca/ResearchTech/Products/MilEng_Products/RD20003_ROBOTS/index_e.htmlhttp://www.darpa.mil/ato/programs/SHM/index.html#http://www.irobot.com/governmentindustrial/product_detail.cfm?prodid=34http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0403/14/technology-88494.htm
Topic: Vancouver to Toronto (my story) (Read 25105 times)
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