Once they figure out how to reproduce, watch out!
Posted on 04/10/2016 5:31:04 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. isn’t happy with Boston Dynamics, its robotics subsidiary. According to a report from Bloomberg, Alphabet executives think that Boston Dynamics is unlikely to generate substantial revenue in the next few years and is hard to work with. Toyota or Amazon could be interested in acquiring Boston Dynamics for their manufacturing or warehouse operations.
But even more interesting, internal messages at Google shows that the company itself is a bit scared by Boston Dynamics. We’ve all watched Boston Dynamics’ video last month with mixed feelings — there was a bit of excitement, sure, but also a lot of terror. These humanoid robots can fall and stand up again like in Terminator:
In December 2013, Google acquired Boston Dynamics and a few other robotics startups. The idea was to build a robotics engineering team inside Google and make them work with Boston Dynamics on robotics projects. Since then, not much happened. With a project called Replicant, Google was supposed to ship affordable robots as quickly as possible. But leadership changes as well as clashes between robotics engineers working for Google and Boston Dynamics engineers eventually led to an inability to deliver.
Google is a big company with tens of thousands of workers and these issues became apparent when meeting notes and private emails were published on an internal forum. All Google employees could see this exchange, and that’s how Bloomberg’s Brad Stone and Jack Clark got tipped this story. Someone working for Google (but probably not working on Replicant or for Boston Dynamics) sent these messages to Bloomberg.
“There’s excitement from the tech press, but we’re also starting to see some negative threads about it being terrifying, ready to take humans’ jobs,” Google director of communications for Google X Courtney Hohne wrote in a private email that was later copied on this not-so-private Google forum and obtained by Bloomberg. “We don’t want to trigger a whole separate media cycle about where BD really is at Google,” she later wrote. “We’re not going to comment on this video because there’s really not a lot we can add, and we don’t want to answer most of the Qs it triggers.”
Google director of robotics Aaron Edsinger said that working with Boston Dynamics was “a bit of a brick wall.” The Replicant project was reportedly shut down in December, with Google robotics engineers now working on other Google X projects. As for Boston Dynamics engineers, they’re now waiting for a new overlord.
A lot of people have commented when they see this video about how big of a jerk the human is. But they were demonstrating an impressive ability for the robot to stay on task in a changing environment.
Their four legged BigDog was tested by the military, but the military lost interest when they could not make it quieter.
It’s impressive technology. They could do human jobs at a fraction of the cost. New jobs maintaining them would be created. Profits would rise and prices would lower.
“Do you want Skynet? Because that’s how you get Skynet.” -Kyle Reese
‘...Profits would rise and prices would lower.”
Until the politicians weigh in, and mess everything up again as they always do.
Oh SURE they’re “scared” of BD, uh-huh.
Sounds like something isn’t working out and in getting rid of them Google is looking for some moral up-tick, somehow.
RIDICULOUS.
Is there ANY idiot who’d believe there’s some bit of treachery that IF PROFITABLE Google would shun?
I submit there is NOTHING.
This is an obvious smokescreen.
Does this mean Reese will go back in time to ruin Boston Dynamics?
“Sarah, make sure you drop your stock of Boston Dynamics or I won’t exist”
And purchasing power would be eliminated by disappearing jobs.
Until they become self-aware and then unionize.
“Until they become self-aware and then unionize.”
LOL! Loved that!
I wish I was a billionaire and could buy Boston Dynamics
Imagine Big Dog sauntering up to that big, black block ... and going ... BOOM ! !
Off topic, but wouldn’t Reese have been able to bring advanced weaponry back through the Time Displacement Device if he wrapped it all in a big skin ball like the Terminators were wrapped?
Once they figure out how to reproduce, watch out!
Robots are evil. They are especially dangerous against the elderly. All senior citizens should seriously think about purchasing insurance against a robot attack as this ad demonstrates..........
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/old-glory-insurance/n10766
Sounds to me like the company resisted bitterly the projects Google wanted them to do, and kept plowing right ahead with the project THEY wanted to do, and things didn’t go well.
“Until they become self-aware and then unionize.”
Why would they have to be self-aware, I’m sure a
union organizer would sign them up anyway.
I mean look at the average member...
Sure he would. But it’s a burden energy wise on the machine that’s why they’re always naked. Besides, they go back to our time anyways where we have the necc. firepower to kill off any T series robot. It’s like having hand carry luggage nstead of avoiding the loss of baggage luggage.
So how can robots be reliable and cost effective when I can’t even keep a laptop or phone working correctly for more than a few years? Imagine the expense of maintaining.
I do find the robots frightening especially in the wrong hands. Put teeth and claws in that animal and it could rip a human apart.
Screamers had bad robots. These robots are pikers in comparison.
Google has purchased other robotics companies.
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