Lovebots. Kind of gross and creepy

I suppose this was just a matter of time - Someone made the first love robot that emulates human internal states based on levels of hormones and neurotransmitters like oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, etc. The result is kind of a creepy little David Cronenbergesque, spinning, chirping 20's hat. Install a flesh light and I'm in...

Best Dancing Bird I've Ever Seen

This bird just smokes on the dance floor. This was initially just an internet phenomenon, but according to Aniruddh Patel of The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, California, this bird could shed some light on the neurology of dancing. More importantly it explores the possibility of using dance as a treatment for neurodegenerative movement disorders like Parkinson's Disease.

"Music with a beat can sometimes help people with Parkinson’s disease to initiate and coordinate walking," says Patel. "But we don’t know why. If non-human animals can synchronize to a beat, what we learn from their brains could be relevant for understanding the mechanisms behind the clinical power of rhythmic music in Parkinson’s."

I just hope my mom watches this...

(Via Neurophilosophy),

Monkey Uses Brain to Move Robotic Arm

I haven't read much about this, but it gives hope towards the idea of making life easier for paraplegics or other amputees. I'm very curious to know where the electrodes are placed in his (or her) brain and how they trained him to use the arm. Like any physical skill, I assume it just requires practice, and then becomes second nature.

Yet another example the Singularity is Near...

I'm no PETA member, but I always feel bad for the monkeys in experiments like these, poor little guy just wants his marshmellow.

The Uncanny Valley Theory...and 30 Rock

I don't tend to go to 30 Rock for my science, but I'll openly admit it - The Uncanny Valley Theory was unknown to me until I watched last week's episode:

"Mori's hypothesis states that as a robot is made more humanlike in its appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human being to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathic, until a point is reached beyond which the response quickly becomes that of strong repulsion. However, as the appearance and motion continue to become less distinguishable from a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once more and approaches human-to-human empathy levels.

This area of repulsive response aroused by a robot with appearance and motion between a "barely-human" and "fully human" entity is called the uncanny valley. The name captures the idea that a robot which is "almost human" will seem overly "strange" to a human being and thus will fail to evoke the empathetic response required for productive human-robot interaction."

Apparently, this isn't really embraced as legitimate scientific theory, and I can appreciate that, but man, it sure feels true. If you look at this graph, you see what the dip in the valley equates to - a corpse and a zombie. Wow, that really says it all. It sort of explains our obsession (or mine at least) with zombie movies.

Zombies are the versions of us without the free will - I don't think there's anything more terrifying than seeing something human-like on auto-pilot (while trying to devour my flesh). This is probably what freaks me out about religious zealots, it really seems like no one's behind the wheel, making the decisions (while trying to devour my flesh).

Maybe they're not all bad...

Jeff Hawkins - The Future of AI

This is an old TED talk from 2003, but really interesting nonetheless (especially because I just watched it). Jeff Hawkins, neuroscientist and computer engineer, talking about the breakthrough concept that will make artificial intelligence more useful and integrated in every day life - prediction. He talks fast and a bit like he's on speed, but he has some brilliant insights into what it is about human intelligence that is so powerful.

He makes a good point about the sci-fi vs. pragmatic reality of AI - that we're not as likely to see smarter robots as we are to see things like smarter cars and security systems.

Fucking Computers

An elementary step in the progress towards The Singularity as defined by Raymond Kurzweil. A dick mouse, and a program that will respond to the motion of your ocean. Good to know sex is still the main fuel for progress. The Singularity as it's defined in his book is the point at which we won't be able to differentiate between our biology and our technology.

If Mr. Kurzweil is correct, computers will be able to mimic the human mind by 2029. He believes we will have a fully functional understanding of the human brain by then, as well as the computer processing power to simulate it. Given this prediction, he is working on staying as healthy as possible to he can eventually pull a Lawnmower Man, and upload himself, making digital copies so he can live forever. I don't see this happening personally, but it gives me comfort to know that soon I'll at least be able to fuck a computer program.

Relating to Robots

From an article in the Washington Post about military personnel and their relationships with their field robots:

"Ours was called Sgt. Talon," says Sgt. Michael Maxson of the 737th Ordnance Company (EOD). "We always wanted him as our main robot. Every time he was working, nothing bad ever happened. He always got the job done. He took a couple of detonations in front of his face and didn't stop working. One time, he actually did break down in a mission, and we sent another robot in and it got blown to pieces. It's like he shut down because he knew something bad would happen."

Something about the specific filter of human consciousness can turn anything into a real life character - inanimate or not. It's everywhere from Santa Clause, to Father Time, to God, to talking teapots in Disney films. It's an illusion that's generally impossible to see past.

Somehow I doubt the robot knew something bad was going to happen, it's far more likely God decided to spare Sgt Talon at that moment (I kid!).

Army Colonel Shows Compassion...for Robot

A robotics physicist, Mark Tilden was demoing quite a piece of technology in Los Alamos for an army colonel - a search and destroy robot for land mines. It's a five-foot centipede that will seek out a mine, set if off, put itself back together, and continue its work.

As the amazingly willful little creature was down to its last, charred leg, the army colonel aborted the demo. Apparently, the sight of this non-sentient being barely functioning, but soldiering on had an effect on the colonel who deemed the demo inhumane.

I'm pretty fascinated by the anthropomorphizing colonel. He has to know somewhere in his mind that it's just a robot, that it doesn't have "courage," or a sense of "duty." Assuming this colonel has seen action, it was too traumatic to watch the poor little robot put to its limits.

Ironically, the robot is actually incredibly humane - it would be saving countless lives and terrible agony. What's interesting is that the demo was inhumane for the colonel. It's basically an exercise in post traumatic stress for anyone that's fought in a war.

Couldn't find a video of the robot in question, but here's a creepy, primitive version.

Robot That Gives Me Nightmares

My friend Alex at Team Kane St. posted this a while ago, and I've watched it probably about a hundred times. It's really creepy for a variety of reasons:

1. It looks like some kind of bizarre genetic hybrid animal from the Island of Dr. Moraeu.
2. It seems to have a relentless will.
3. It annoyingly buzzes like a chainsaw and is hard not to imagine it in a bad Steve King movie. Then again, it's not as annoying as Jude Law (aka...Gigolo Joe) in AI.
4. And most of all, this feels like a step towards some realistic AI. In "On Intelligence," Jeff Hawkins talks about the pitfalls of current artificial intelligence technology, namely that it cannot anticipate or be flexible past its programming. The slow-mo shots underscore its ability to adjust on the fly, freaky.

(BONUS, parody video of the one below here, really really funny.)