Tag: robot
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In the Grip of Necrobotic Spiders
Rice University mechanical engineers are showing how to repurpose deceased spiders as mechanical grippers that can blend into natural environments while picking up objects, like other insects, that outweigh them. Anthony and Jeff discuss the merits of using spider corpses as engineering materials. [more]
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Xenobots and Space Crime
The US scientists who created the first living robots say the life forms, known as xenobots, can now reproduce in a way not seen in plants and animals. Anthony and Jeff step through this discovery and what it could mean for humanity. Then, it appears NASA is investigating first allegation of crime in space. Jeff and Anthony speculate on how this might play out, and what the future of intergalactic criminality could look like. [more]
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Vibing Minds and Robot Inventors
When we cooperate on certain tasks, our brainwaves might synchronize. So says a new finding from researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. Anthony and Jeff discuss what that might mean for how we understand consciousness and the brain. Then, if an AI can come up with new concepts, should it be able to get the credit? A court decision in Australia is awarding authorship of two patents to a non-human. Jeff and Anthony weigh in on robot inventors. [more]
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Light in Space and New Laws for Robots
If you could look at the night sky without stars, galaxies and everything else known to give off visible light, does the universe itself put out a glow? That's a question being addressed by the NOIRLab in Arizona, and the answer may surprise you. It certainly surprises Anthony and Jeff, who try to wrap their brains around new findings about light in the darkness. Then, Isaac Asimov's Three Laws for Robotics have been a part of science fiction and popular culture for decades. But now a new book proposes 4 additional laws to govern the creation of robots and AI. Jeff and Anthony take a look at these new laws to decide if they are a good idea. [more]
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Loch Screen
A global team of scientists plans to scour the icy depths of Loch Ness next month using environmental DNA (eDNA) in an experiment that may discover whether Scotland’s fabled monster really does, or did, exist. Whenever a creature moves through its environment, it leaves behind tiny fragments of DNA from skin, scales, feathers, fur, faeces and urine. This story has really left a mark on Jeff and Anthony. [more]
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Alchemical Intelligence
Ali Rahimi, a researcher in artificial intelligence (AI) at Google, took a swipe at his field last December—and received a 40-second ovation for it. Speaking at an AI conference, Rahimi charged that machine learning algorithms, in which computers learn through trial and error, have become a form of "alchemy." Researchers, he said, do not know why some algorithms work and others don't. Without deep understanding of the basic tools needed to build and train new algorithms, he says, researchers creating AIs resort to hearsay, like medieval alchemists. Jeff and Anthony are ready for the 24k gold robots. [more]
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Hitches Get Stitches
We talk a lot about whether we can trust robots, but can robots trust us? HitchBOT was a robot on a goodwill tour of the world, depending on the kindness of strangers to get from one end of a country to the other. After successful tours of Canada and various parts of Europe, it came to the US. We killed it. We killed it good. [more]
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Robodogs Go To Heaven
Back in 1999, Sony released a robot dog called Aibo. Now, 15 years later, these toys have started to break down, and Sony has ceased repairing them or manufacturing new models. This has caused the few people who still use and care for these little robotic companions to come to terms with the loss of a wholly inorganic member of their families. Jeff and Anthony discuss whether man-made friends can ever truly replace natural ones, and why we must always accept the inevitable death of all cute things. [more]
Do NOT join our secret society. You’ll just wind up with a bunch of cool stuff. It’s gross.