this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2024
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I have long attested that whatever sci fi can think up, humans will eventually create.

In b4 451 isnt SciFi

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Seriously, can we skip this episode of black mirror.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

this is what the company behind this says it's useful for:

Wildfire Control and PreventionAgricultural ManagementEcological ConservationSnow and Ice RemovalEntertainment and SFX

first two sound pretty reasonable to me, as someone with a very basic understanding of wildfire control.
snow and ice removal, i mean it's definitely gonna do that but i can't think of any place where it would be necessary to use a robot dog for it.
the last one's self explanatory.

i'd love to be optimistic and say that this robot will only get used for harmless or good deeds but i know this thing is already being retrofitted by cops to shoot tear gas or some bullshit

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

Why not deploy it as is? Great for crowd control

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

dr evil Riiiight

[–] [email protected] 56 points 2 months ago

Ah yes the good old torment nexus from the hit novel "dont build the torment nexus"

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago (1 children)

How about one that puts fires out?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago

That's what prison labor is for!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Now we just need a "Rat Thing". That will solidify the world into a corporotacracy where the Liberterian ideal of Corporate Profits over everything and no pesky regulations to get in the way of profits.

Bring on the Franchise Wars...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Don't we already have that? It's called IMF and World Bank

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Sounds useful for firefighters.

Kinda like how the drone with a flamethrower was used to clear powerlines.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago

It's a delightful PR gimmick by a most definitely not a tech company, since there's not much cutting edge technology going on in the world of "flamethrowers are perfectly legal in America and that's our business model".

In addition to strapping a flamethrower to a generic quadruped robot, they also strapped one to a drone.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

As an extra layer or irony this screen shot is a comment on a headline posted on a micro blogging platform.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago
[–] [email protected] 76 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I still can't get over the fact that the book about the dangers of banning books is one of the most commonly banned books.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

Don't want people knowing what it would look like before and during a book banning fascist political regime.

You might notice the things in the book start happening here in the real world.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I mean... Humanity is pretty screwed as it is so why don't we just turn into the skid and see how bad we can make things

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Because "humanity" isn't really screwed, just most members of humanity. I hate this assumption that climate catastrophe or nuclear war will be a certain end. No it won't. Humans will survive, maybe even a large percentage of them. LIFE GOES ON.

Maybe you want death because trying to improve things is "too hard," but I want to live. I hold onto hope because life is more fulfilling that way. You're just justifying apathy by assuming we're all going to die when it's actually unlikely to happen.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Save your Oscar bait speech for another time dude I was clearly joking.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

I'm not remembering a mechanical dog in fahrenheit 451, but it's been decades since I've read it....

Also not at all worried about "footed" robots navigating the real world.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

He had a sharp proboscis to stab.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

That Boston dynamics robot runs at like 4 miles an hour. The fastest robot dog runs at like almost 12 or something.

Average running speed for humans is between 6.4 and 8 mph depending on gender, etc. And if the obesity rates are correct, I think that it's probably a lot lower and for incredibly short bursts if anything.

Here's the record.

https://youtu.be/-2k7H3CIhoQ?si=DsNJqFaQcN6HVVp2

Strap a weapon to this bad boy, and howdy, you've got a war machine!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Isn't there a cheetah bot that can burn a good clip. Dunno what its carrying capacity is, but I remember it could out run puny protestors.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

After looking it up, it says about 8.86 mph after converting from 13 feet per second. Some sites say it's 13 mph, but I trust wired when they state 13 feet per second.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

And is running in the most inefficient way possible

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Too bad for the elderly and disabled/differently abled.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

But think of the cost savings!!! /S

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Yep. Just start burning the bodies of the weak and elderly every week. Then only the strongest survive. ..

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago
[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Also keep in mind that humans can run even faster if they do so on all fours.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

And source paper.

By 2050, we are going to have only quadrupedal Olympic runners!

[–] [email protected] 56 points 2 months ago (1 children)

the first-ever flame-throwing quadruped robot dog

A very competitive category, as we all know

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago

Personally, I’m more interested in the monoped robot dog category.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I hope you are right. I would love to see The Culture come to life.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Did someone say Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism? Because I heard Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

Among my favourite takes on the Culture is, I think, from Consider Phlebas: that the Minds basically keep humanity as pets, and everyone is just fine with that thank you very much.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

A boy can dream. A boy can dream...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

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