Oversleeping! And AI concerns.

 I woke to the sound of rain on the skylight windows quite early this morning. As it eventually became clear the rain was stopping, I contemplated getting up, switched my alarm off … and woke up again at 9.30!! Ridiculous! So I abandoned the idea of running round the village, got up and did some stretching exercises and got on with the rest of the day. Such is life! 

Now, robots are quite frequently in the news at the moment: humanoid robots achieving athletic feats and something I saw about ‘deliverybots’ being a hazard on pavements.

A “deliverybot’, by the way is defined as an autonomous robot that provides ‘last mile” delivery services (whatever that is). Delivery robots have been used in food delivery, package delivery, hospital delivery, and room service.

An operator may monitor and take control of the robot remotely in certain situations that the robot cannot resolve by itself, such as when it is stuck in an obstacle. 

However, some people are pointing out that on pavements they are a hazard to blind people and to disabled people.

It’s part of a wider recognition/worry that AI is developing more quickly and more dangerously than anyone thought possible. There is talk of AI eliminating humankind! Regulation is being called for!

Here is a photo of humanoid and quadruped robots at a protest calling for the regulation of AI in Warsaw last week

Has nobody read Isaac Asimov’s science fiction stories with the Laws of robotics!!??

“The Three Laws, presented to be from the fictional "Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D.", are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.”

Maybe we need something like that.

It’s a strange fact of modern times that stuff that appeared in fiction long years ago is becoming a worrying reality! 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!