podcast friday

[sabotabby]

 I have things that I should write about in more detail but I'm having about three weeks of bonkerscrazytimeclownshoes, so have a brief recommendation for Tech Won't Save Us's episode "What’s Driving the Push For Humanoid Robots ft. James Vincent."

Now that I know lots more about robots than I used to, I can tell you that humanoid is maybe the worst shape for a robot. If you don't believe me, watch some videos from the Consumer Electronics Show. They fall down all the time. Sometimes, as with Elon Musk's robots, they are just guys in suits and not robots at all. Humanoid is a bad shape for a human (this observation brought to you by how much my back is currently killing me) so why not make a robot that is shaped like basically anything else?

(I mean you know the answer is slavery, right? It's always slavery.)

Anyway this episode is weirdly fun to listen to because we're talking about something that is basically impossible and can't replace people, vs. AI which is basically impossible but will replace people because of all the middle managers who've had frontal lobotomies.

Comments

[batdina]

FWIW, the middle manager sitting next to me says it's not the middle managers pushing AI, it's the executives. Based on what I've heard coming from her office, I tend to believe her.

[sabotabby]

That's likely true. There's just a certain cadence to middle manager emails and that's what ChatGPT has mastered.

[thatjustwontbreak]

Ty for the rec!

[greylock]

Now that I know lots more about robots than I used to, I can tell you that humanoid is maybe the worst shape for a robot.

Not for a sexbot!

(I assume. IIRC, there was a lot of discussion of sexbots 5-6 years ago? And there was some tech bro who was big into the idea, but a quick search didn't turn anything up beyond AI bots and I don't care enough).

Also, counterpoint: C3PO. (I assume tech bros my era are trying to make Star Wars a reality, and younger tech bros are taking the wrong lessons from Gorman).