Comments on: Insects inspiring new robot vision technology for collision avoidance

By: Bri

Bri — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:09:33 +0000

@Gordon(Flash): Continued- Bus drivers, taxie , all dilervery from pea pod to pizza to oil, US Postal. Ther are millions of these jobs around the world that will disappear seemingly over night. They are traditionally jobs that the nonintelectually gifted gravitated toward. Add the reduction of collision shops insurance adjuster. Taxation won’t work. All these jobs are stressed to compete already. Neither the business owners or the unemployed would be able to afford to retrain and for what jobs. Right behind this ” narrow” AI is autonomic robots. Kiss goodbye house keepers home healthcare and nurses, baby sitters, etc. That list is even more troubling. It’s too large to adequately write in this post. It has the potential to create anarchy and Luddite sentiments. The people will look to government for answers. They are clueless. It’s like all those dinasoars looking up from their activities to see an asteroid obliterating their world. For the most part I don’t hear anybody asking the right questions, let alone proposing any answers. If the loop is closed in the way that I propose everyone would have money to spend. The economy would function still. There are some serious issues to my proposition but they aren’t insurmountable. Particularly if it’s monitored by even narrow AI. Those drawbacks aren’t that complex. If the loop is closed and those drawbacks are controlled the economy would grow by leaps and bounds. People won’t even consider Luddite sentiments it would be the reverse.

By: Ian Clarke

Ian Clarke — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:23:32 +0000

What I’d like to see happen, Gorden, is any company benefiting from technology resulting in mass lay-offs, being legally required to re-train those staff for other, more future-proof, careers (and not necessarily within the same company).

By: Gorden Russell

Gorden Russell — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:54:36 +0000

What’ll we do with all the unemployed truck drivers after this is perfected? Not to mention the UPS and FedEx guys after robots can carry packages to your desk.

By: Dr. Richard

Dr. Richard — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:15:40 +0000

Judging from the way my windshield and grill looks on a long trip, they don’t all enjoy a full proof collision avoidance system. But then I’m not being fair, my car is heading toward them with a velocity greater than or equal to theirs. The Dragonflys and Damsel flys have an increible nervous system complete with a group communication, when they are curious about something. We really can, and are learning from nature’s evolution perfected devices.

By: melajara

melajara — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:47:28 +0000

I like very much this type of research. We have a LOT to learn from insect brains and now that RE the Drosophila connectome is well under way, a lot of “tiny brains” are waiting behind for the same approach.

By: Bri

Bri — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:24:24 +0000

It probably would function great with nothing mote than a pin hole camera for collecting the visual data.