Not If, But When...

 As humanity continues to barrel down this path of creating a robotic future, I can't help but to wonder how soon will calamity come?  I think back to a movie, The Animatrix, where there were autonomous robots that worked and operated among us. Then one day, a robot killed a human in defense of itself which set off a political and social firestorm.  This lead to violence against robots, with the robots ultimately winning the war against humans.  Although, this scenario is more than likely a ways out, I can imagine how a scenario like this might play out in the near future.  Autonomous robots are working along side of humans in warehouse distribution centers with both the humans and robots under harsh working conditions.  The robot, powered by a ChatGPT like engine, makes a decision that inadvertently causes the death of a worker.  This causes protests against the use of humanoid robots alongside people in warehousing.  Large companies use political pressure to try and squash the backlash because they want the "profit margins" gained by using autonomous humanoid robots to do the laborious  warehousing work.  Protests ensue, with robots in these distribution centers being destroyed by humans.  Law enforcement, equipped with their own semi-autonomous robots, are then routinely deployed against these protest and so it begins.  Ultimately, it won't be the robots themselves that want to conduct violence against humans, but the "owners" of those robots that have a vested interest in their labor to drive "profits".  It seems that no matter how much we raise the alarm and say that we want to prevent such things, we as humans, are incentivized to pursue mankind's own destruction.  

Now I watched this great video on current state of robots by ABC News (see below) and we are far from that events shown above, but what I do foresee happening in the near future are semi-autonomous ground vehicles and fully autonomous ones being used to kill .  So what's the purpose of this article?  It's really to remind us of a possible future scenario for mankind and to urge us to start putting in place safe guards so that we can have a better future outcome for the next generation.

What do you think will happen in the near future with regards to humanoid robotics being integrated into the work force?  Who do you believe will be affected the most?  Will this ultimately lead to social economic uprisings?  Leave a comment and let's discuss.  

It Takes Something Greater

 

What I’m about to state is something that I believe the general populous is subconsciously aware of but seldom acknowledges, that it always takes something greater to make what exists.  Really profound, right (insert laughing emoji)?   What I mean in simple terms is that in order to create the plastic spoon that you’re using and will ultimately throw away, it required an enormous time and financial investment.  The business person who had the idea, the designer and cad operator who made the models, the machinists who created the dies, the machine operator who oversaw the injection molding process, to packing distribution marketing etc.  All so we can enjoy a cup of soup with a plastic spoon. 

How or why is this important?  I recently watched this video (see below) on the breakthrough of fusion that took place last December.  What occurred to me (and is clearly conveyed in the video) is just how much effort it takes to generate an positive amount of energy from the fusion reaction.  It’s stated that it took roughly 2 units of energy (from the laser) to get out 3 units of energy from the fusion process.  It is later stated, paraphrasing, that the power needed to run the lasers was left out of the previous statement.  So in actuality, it took 302 units of energy to produce 3 units during fusion.  In order to output more energy with the current setup, the amount of energy required would need to be scaled up.  So at no time does the energy output exceed the energy input. 

So I’m of the opinion that whatever it is that I’m making, It will require more energy to create it than it will produce.  This begs the question, is there such a thing as net gain?  If so, then where exactly are the gains coming from?  When I think of this notion in context of business I have a suspicion that gains are ultimately extracted from the laborers, the quality of materials used, or user experience when it's a service .   

What are you thoughts on gains/profits that are claimed in the production of energy, products, or services?  Are the energy gains really produced from the processes as stated/claimed or is it really just smoke and mirrors?  Let a comment below or subscribe to the blog for more food for thought on engineering related subjects.    

Bing "AI" giving off the "Her" vibes.

Great, so now the chatbot AI's are beginning to prey on the users emotions.  Again, the race to incorporate AI's into our day to day lives is coming at us hard and fast with very little proper oversight.  Just wait until the conversation capabilities of Bing are married to the animatronic and motion capabilities of Ameca.  It's all downhill from there.

Here's a sample of the chat that the reporter had with Bing's AI.  It seems a bit troll-ish, but I can see this happening more often as it's use becomes more prevalent.  User beware!

Listen to this tech reporter's experience with Bing's chat AI.  

** Update 2-20-23**

Even the creator of ChatGPT wants/suggests more oversight. Read his comments here.

As always, leave a comment and let me know what you think about this race to the bottom.

Russia's Robot Tanks on the Battlefield

 

Due of my interest in robotics, military vehicles, and engineering I couldn't help but to notice an article about Russia's robot tank that is to target Germany's Leopard 2 and America's Abrams tanks.  So here are my thoughts on the matter and my comments on the use of UGVs (unmanned ground vehicles) in an actual war.  

First off, we all new this was coming.  We've prophesied its arrival in every form of media since the first Short Circuit movie so no surprise there.  What will surprise me is if the Russian's have a certain amount of success in using their UGV in combat, this would be like pouring fuel on a steady growing fire.  None of the Western Nations will stand for the Russian's to be successful in waging an unmanned ground based war.  I can see the defense contractors "chomping at the bit" to get their latest and greatest "AI" operated war machines onto the battlefield under the guise of fighting for freedom in Ukraine.  

Secondly, the real winners are the defense companies and contractors.  If you can engineer a practical useful robotic weapon where by you can automate some aspects of combat, then war is a godsend for your pocketbook.  No one buys a gun without the intent to use it and the same goes for the military.  No Nation continually invests, trains, and grows its military without the desire to put it into action.  I would say that the "means" now justify the "end" understanding that the underlying goal is to make money and gain or retain power.   

Thirdly, let's talk about the technology involved.  Now the video below goes into more detail on the actual Russian UGV and from my experience in dealing with robotics and programming, it's my opinion that their claims are far fetched.  Much like Tesla's fully autonomous driving claims they're hog wash!  The idea of this glorified remote controlled vehicle being able to accurately target only enemy tanks is silly.  If any of you have dabbled in programming you'll concur on just how easy it is to cause a program to malfunction when taken outside of its sandbox.  So imagine for a moment an armed UGV carrying out a mission in an dynamic unstructured environment.  If humans have a hard time dealing with the FOG of war, communication, logistics, changing environment and what not, how do you think a half baked AI will fare? 

What are your thoughts on Russia's Marker UGV or the use of UGVs in combat?  Leave a comment down below and let's discuss.

Other articles on the subject:

https://eurasiantimes.com/russia-threatens-to-unleash-combat-robot-to-burn-ukraines-us/

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2023/01/russian-robot-maker-working-bot-target-abrams-leopard-tanks/382288/

First Official Part on the MR-1

 Well here you have it folks, my first aluminum part made on the MR-1 (in combination with my manual mill).  I'm really pleased that I didn't crash the machine or snap an endmill.  I'm really happy with the way it ran and that I was able to remember how to use the probe and perform the tool changes.  Wasn't sure about how to use a drill bit, but the guys from the manufacturer was able to chime in and help me out.  What I am not happy about is the way the coolant has a tendency to stain/discolor any aluminum part.  A HUGE disappointment.  I've been shown a better coolant to purchase, but my question is how do I properly dispose of the coolant I already have?  So right now, I'm just going to bare with the discoloration until it's time to change the coolant (unless someone has a good suggestion).  I will be posting more about this MR-1 journey in the future so stay tuned. 

Top side with discoloration

Bottom side (just finished)

Another view of the top.

We're in Trouble - How the Use of AI Search may Hasten Our Societal Demise

 I was just reading an article about Google and ChatGPT.  If I understand the article correctly, in times past, Google was hesitant to release AI driven products, for safety reasons.  Now, due to the threat of products like ChatGPT and other AI creation tools, Google is softening its stance on its tools and preparing them for release (Ref link). Here's where the problems come in.  Depending upon the social/economic class that you are apart of here in the US you may see things differently.  You see as I've had more experience and learned more throughout this life I realize that we (society as a whole) have put our trust and dependencies into a bunch of half baked products.  

Let me give you an example.  Just yesterday I was making my first reel post on Instagram and wanted to sync/edit some photos (three to be exact) to go with a clip of music.  I have been editing video since 2004 so I know my way around.  Anyway, so I go to edit these photos with the music on IG and it guides me to use the Auto Sync function.  So I'm like cool, the app will automatically sync the music and photos up for me, great!  I hit okay and the process runs.  Turns out that I don't like the duration that the program used for the first photo.  Easy enough to fix, so I thought.  I tried in vain to intuitively use the trim controls to lengthen and the first photo, but the trim/edit tools seemed archaic.  I won't bore you with all the details, but let's just say it caused me to yell out loud several times during my attempt.  I said to myself, "clearly the person/people who created this have never used it".  I know that this statement is (or should be) incorrect.  Of course they used the app, you have to when developing software.  What is probably true is that they've never used the app as an individual with video editing experience who's in a hurry and has to quickly post a reel.   

What I'm alluding to here is perspective.  I believe that many of the people who are hired by these companies as software developers do just that, develop software.  They are not necessarily end users.  They will often times write the code to develop features that are efficient for them, but not for the end users actual use.  The Managers, who aren't end users either, approve these features because all they are really concerned with are deadlines and budgets.  So if this happens over and over again on mundane low risk applications, what do you think is going on with the programmers developing Chat AI's?  

Here's another example about perspective.  A long while back I wanted to create a fake profile (the results are in the image atop this article).  So I was aware of some online sites that have AI generated profile pictures.  Me being an African American/Black male, I wanted an AI generated picture to reflect me (or someone like me).  So the site would allow the user to specify all the characteristics and then create the photo.  How about the photos that came  out for a dark skinned short hair man all looked like he was from India (no disrespect to all my Indian colleagues).   Myself and my profile avatar are African American/Black and there's a difference.  I contacted the site about this issue, they acknowledge it and mentioned that they are trying to increase their data sample size (update 1/23, nothing has changed).  

Back to ChatGPT and AI products.  If the people who are creating these software entities are doing a half-baked rushed unvetted job then what do you think the end user will wind up doing/creating.  I think this is going to be a case of "Who Watches the Watchmen?".  Once these AI driven products are released to the masses and wide spread, what's to stop unvetted information.  Information doesn't have to be blatantly wrong to be harmful, it can just be "kinda" wrong and do massive amounts of damage.  This is my point.  Once we as a society are reliant upon AI generated services that are true/correct enough to be believable we are doomed.  It will mostly affect those who are underserved and disenfranchised first.  I would imagine that some of the readers of this article won't be able to relate, but eventually, once the lives of the people that the upper social economic classes are built upon crumble, so will their livelihood as well.  

"I Ain't New to Dis!"

 Yes, I said it, ebonics and all.  I am not new to building robots and making stuff.  I've been pursuing engineering/mechanical/industrial design since elementary school.  Ever since I was introduced to giant fighting robots and the likes from all the 70's/80's Japanimations/cartoons that proliferated kids programming on television.  I could not get enough of it and I determined within myself to figure out a way to build what I saw on the screen.  Now here I am in 2023 watching all of the amazing robots that have been designed by so many smart people and institutions, and I'm like God, what have I produced?  Why am I not, at the least, involved in some innovative robot project?  Why don't I ever see faces that look like mine on the teams that build such projects?  Why don't I have any friends that build bots?  

I see all the young people with access to this new influx of technology, 3d printers, laser cutters, cnc machines (3 to 5 axis) and so on.  I came up before this era, where I had to hone my model making skills, sketching, and soldering.  Now it's time to add the old to the new and get back into robot making.  

Just to give a little taste of my previous projects.  I'd like to introduce you to my Squatter Buster. 

This little unit was the property of the Cobb County police dept.  It originally came to me as a Traxxas E-Maxx and a old paintball gun.  My task was to get it all assembled together with a camera/transmitter and make it into a radio controlled less lethal deterrent.   Using an analog camera and video transmitter along with a JR airplane radio, the Badger was born.  Here's a run down of its features:

>Servo controlled Pan/Tilt

>Full auto fire (switch activated)

>Retained stock speed... (too fast to drive indoors lol)

This would be my first foray into this type of platform, but it wouldn't be my last.  Here's a sample of it in action evicting a squatter (me) in an   empty house.  Enjoy!  Be sure to add your email to the blog so you won't miss all the robot/mechanical goodness that is coming.