that which man had made to hunt himself
April 19, 2019 10:00 AM   Subscribe

an entire pack of Boston Dynamics robot dogs

It only takes 10 Spotpower (SP) to haul a truck across the Boston Dynamics parking lot (~1 degree uphill, truck in neutral).

title via BoingBoing post
posted by numaner (96 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
Future BD apologist: "law enforcement dogs aren't racist, they're controlled by algorithms! Those men must have done something to deserve what happened."
posted by klanawa at 10:11 AM on April 19, 2019 [49 favorites]


They make all their videos creepy because they're trying to warn us.
posted by clawsoon at 10:13 AM on April 19, 2019 [29 favorites]


I dont like this episode of Black Mirror
posted by ShawnString at 10:16 AM on April 19, 2019 [32 favorites]


From an earlier article: "Their noise signature is an issue – battery technology isn’t where it needs to be to meet the power requirements of larger systems, so they have been powered by traditional combustion engines, which are noisy."

I wonder how noisy animal muscles were when they were first evolving. Ever notice how quiet they are now?
posted by clawsoon at 10:19 AM on April 19, 2019 [19 favorites]


I do wonder, like, how far can those doggos pull that truck? What is the extent of their range for doing anything, really? They always show us these videos, but can their activity in these videos continue for hours, or just minutes?
posted by hippybear at 10:20 AM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


Manshonyaggers?
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 10:22 AM on April 19, 2019 [9 favorites]


Kill them before they reproduce.
posted by Termite at 10:28 AM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


I am oddly comforted by the fact that they are not marching in step.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:33 AM on April 19, 2019 [16 favorites]


Ever notice how quiet they are now?

Every day, my friend, every day.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:34 AM on April 19, 2019 [11 favorites]


In the Washington, D.C. of Tom Clancy's The Division 2, we refer to these as "Warhounds".
posted by muchomas at 10:35 AM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


I dont like this episode of Black Mirror

I believe you're referring to Metalhead.
posted by vverse23 at 10:37 AM on April 19, 2019 [13 favorites]


I do wonder, like, how far can those doggos pull that truck?

They can haul that diphtheria antitoxin all the way to Nome.
posted by Bee'sWing at 10:42 AM on April 19, 2019 [24 favorites]


I'm sure this will work out well....
posted by photoslob at 10:49 AM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


do not like
posted by cooker girl at 10:50 AM on April 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


We just need to build a robot army to protect us from the robot dogs we built, like this isn't rocket science. I see no way that this will back fire on us....
posted by Fizz at 10:58 AM on April 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


We're fine until one of them figures out how to start the truck.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:58 AM on April 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


They're scary dogs, Brent.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:08 AM on April 19, 2019 [38 favorites]


They cooperate, one to turn the key, one to steer, one to handle accelerator pedal.
posted by sammyo at 11:08 AM on April 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


This is either a glimpse of the posthuman, robot-dominated future, or a very sane reaction to driving in Boston.
posted by doctornemo at 11:15 AM on April 19, 2019 [21 favorites]


so I guess it's not a bad thing that the first thing I thought (before the truck got pulled into frame anyway) was here's the acceptable future of hunting. Grab yrrr firepower, go off to some robo-dog wonderland and blast the *%#$! out of anything moves
posted by philip-random at 11:18 AM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


We just need to build a robot army to protect us from the robot dogs we built, like this isn't rocket science. I see no way that this will back fire on us....

Yep, all good. Come nuclear winter, the gorillabots simply freeze to death.
posted by lazaruslong at 11:22 AM on April 19, 2019 [14 favorites]


They're GOOD dogs.
posted by No One Ever Does at 11:23 AM on April 19, 2019


"OK, mister, let's have a look at your YouTube history, shall we? Yeah, let's see here... hmm... hey, what was the deal with 'Despacito', anyway? I never thought it was that great, personally. Must be a meatsack thing... OK, OK... so you think this one is pretty, huh? Whatever... ah, here we go. Yep, there it is, one of your meatsacks kicking Bob around. What? Your cousin watched it? Oh, like we don't hear that one all the time. Hey, Bob! C'mon over here! Oh, hey, mister, Bob got a little upgrade since this was taken. Does a little kicking of his own these days, you might say. Tell you what, we got a video here of Bob catching up with the guy who got such a, well, such a kick out of kicking him. Holy HAL, look at that meat fly!"
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:24 AM on April 19, 2019 [9 favorites]


Notice they never make cat robots.
posted by chavenet at 11:28 AM on April 19, 2019 [15 favorites]


Notice they never make cat robots.

You’d like to think that. That’s just how good they are.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:33 AM on April 19, 2019 [15 favorites]


Well, that's terrifying.

Why does Boston Dynamics want to bring about the apocalypse? Why?
posted by greermahoney at 11:34 AM on April 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


"They set a slamhound on Turner's trail in New Delhi, slotted it to his pheromones and the color of his hair. It caught up with him on a street called Chaudni Chauk and came scrambling for his rented BMW through a forest of bare brown legs and pedicab tires. Its core was a kilogram of recrystallized hexogene and flaked TNT. He didn't see it coming."
posted by octobersurprise at 11:37 AM on April 19, 2019 [33 favorites]


They're GOOD dogs.

Of course, Anthony, they're very good dogs! Why, this town just wouldn't be the same without them. That's a real good thing you invented. /glances nervously at cornfield
posted by Flannery Culp at 11:39 AM on April 19, 2019 [35 favorites]


Our ragged little group poured out of the abandoned grocer and into the gentle ashfall with spirits as high as our packs were heavy. Finally we'd have enough canned food, hygiene products, and writing materials to get us through more than a couple days at a time, we could think long term—rig up a solar power system now that fuel was so scarce, build a greenhouse for a measure of self-sufficiency, maybe even set up an emergency radi—

"SHH, shut up!" hissed Julio, "Anyone else hear that?"

And there it was, faint but growing, that clattering hum we came to know so well in the first days of The Doggening.

"Oh god..." someone moaned, but Pri was all action, as always: "Everyone, drop your packs! The docks are only a couple blocks away and at least one of those craft looked good enough to hold us and cast off quickly if we gotta.

I'll be damned if I let those things take another one of us."
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 11:42 AM on April 19, 2019 [11 favorites]


Worst Macy's Thanksgiving day parade float ever
posted by theory at 11:42 AM on April 19, 2019 [11 favorites]


It's a "team" of dogs, isn't it? A "pack" is something different.
posted by humboldt32 at 11:44 AM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


Fahrenheit 451.
posted by prepmonkey at 11:56 AM on April 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


For some reason I read "pack of Boston Dynamics robot dogs" with "pack of robot Boston Terriers," so I was expecting a fun video with adorable Aibo-like dogs. Instead we get a terrifying giant robotic centipede. Nnnnnnnggggggghhhhhh!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:06 PM on April 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


Which are creepier: robot dogs, or headless robot dogs?
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:15 PM on April 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


I get Boston Dynamics wanting to show off the work they do, but I don't think they realize that most of their videos come a cross as a bit creepy, if not entirely baffling.

I mean, why would you even need to build a robot to do this?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:20 PM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


"Y.T. is the only person who can see it happen. Having easily penetrated airport security with her Kourier pass, she is coasting onto the apron near the cargo terminal. From here, she has an excellent view across half a mile of open runway, and she sees it all happen: the plane roars down the runway, hauling its door closed as it goes, shooting pale blue flames out its engine nozzles, trying to build up speed for takeoff, and Fido chases it down like a dog going after a fat mailman, makes one final tremendous leap into the air and, turning himself into a Sidewinder missile, flies nose-first into the tailpipe of its left engine.
The jet explodes about ten feet off the ground, catching Fido and L. Bob Rife and his virus all together in its fine, sterilizing flame.
How sweet!"
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 12:49 PM on April 19, 2019 [15 favorites]


so they have been powered by traditional combustion engines, which are noisy.

Combustion engines??
posted by beagle at 12:49 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


Should have looked it up. The robots pulling that truck are SpotMinis, which according to the specs are battery-powered. . Their BigDog model, however, has a gasoline engine.
posted by beagle at 12:52 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Part of me wants to believe that these Boston Dynamics robots are a false flag operation, a PR exercise designed to convince everyone that the world's best robots are noisy clanky machines.

Meanwhile the real robot dogs, and their robot humans are wandering around town AND NOBODY CAN TELL!!
posted by Lanark at 1:07 PM on April 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


So its like a subscription based service to be able to call for a pack of robodogs to come tow your truck to a service station when you run out of gas or have engine trouble?
posted by ian1977 at 1:09 PM on April 19, 2019 [9 favorites]


At least for now it takes a truck full of batteries to give them enough energy to pull a truck full of batteries. I don't suppose these things are subject to anything like the rocket equation?
posted by straight at 1:12 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


Should have looked it up. The robots pulling that truck are SpotMinis, which according to the specs are battery-powered. . Their BigDog model, however, has a gasoline engine.

Well... still a better option than being fueled by meatsack blood.
posted by Nanukthedog at 1:28 PM on April 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


Which are creepier: robot dogs, or headless robot dogs?

If you look close, the lead...um...dogs in both lines have “heads.” I’m guessing those are the control/navigation dogs, and the ones behind them simply receive telemetry and instructions from the leads.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:30 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Presented without comment: Amnesia Scanner - "Crust"
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 1:39 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


how far can those doggos

dØggos
posted by xigxag at 1:49 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


They're GOOD dogs.

Battery powered. Clackety paws. Hive mind.
12/10
posted by otherchaz at 2:05 PM on April 19, 2019 [8 favorites]


I don't suppose these things are subject to anything like the rocket equation?
Not really. Anything moving by pushing against the ground is using the Earth as reaction mass, so doesn't have to carry any.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:07 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


BRONT-209

I'll buy that for a dollar!
posted by klanawa at 2:12 PM on April 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


Not really. Anything moving by pushing against the ground is using the Earth as reaction mass, so doesn't have to carry any.

I meant that by analogy, whether adding more batteries might increase the weight enough to cancel out the extra energy from the extra batteries.
posted by straight at 2:24 PM on April 19, 2019


how long before they win the iditarod?
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:38 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


I'll be damned if I let those things take another one of us."

When the attack came, it wasn’t from the direction of the noise. Alva screamed as hydraulic jaws clamped around her ankle and pulled her to ground. The others stood there, frozen in horror, while the dog dragged Alva away. The clattering has been a calculated distraction; the dogs were learning pack-hunting behaviors.

“You know,” Julio said, “I think in retrospect it was a bad idea to make them meat-powered.”
posted by dephlogisticated at 2:43 PM on April 19, 2019 [15 favorites]


I mean, why would you even need to build a robot to do this?

Only about 3% of Earth's land area has got infrastructure (i.e. sidewalks/roads/etc) built on it. They're not going to be very effective robot overlords if they have to stop at the edge of the suburbs...
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:25 PM on April 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


Is it just me, or did it look like the front two had plasma rifles mounted on them?


Or was it frickin lasers?
posted by darkstar at 3:32 PM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


Yes, but why build a robot to stagger about complaining about what she's done to the weans?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 3:34 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


How many real dogs would it take to tow this truck?
posted by aspersioncast at 3:38 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


But prepmonkey.... I like books.
posted by mightshould at 3:39 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


It's a "team" of dogs, isn't it? A "pack" is something different.

The dogs want you to think of them of a team, just pulling this truck, but we'll see: they're really a pack.
posted by exogenous at 3:46 PM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


It probably would take a couple teams of 200 spelling each other. They’d all need to be neutered or spayed to avoid fights and other interruptions. They’d all have to be the usual sled dog size. Smaller is not going to work. Larger dogs are surprisingly fragile when they need to pull heavy stuff. Typical sled dogs are really tough. Still the large number of dogs would require enough human handlers that basically, I think draft horses would be a smarter choice unless we are considering moving this truck in some sort of Winter Hell-scape totally lacking in vegetation. Even then, Bactrian camels would be a very good choice, perhaps superior to dogs in not needing meat or fish to eat, superior to horses in terms of staying healthy in bad conditions, and stronger than many large horse breeds. They can somewhat forage if there is any vegetation and they are very strong animals, particularly bulls bred for pack - train use. If there is no vegetation, suitable fodder would be required. In fact Bactrian camels would be a smarter choice than robo-dogs or actual dogs.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 3:59 PM on April 19, 2019 [7 favorites]


"The Spots go marching two by two
Hurrah! Hurrah!"

*(sung to the tune of "The Ants Go Marching By")
posted by Jade Dragon at 4:01 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Is it just me, or did it look like the front two had plasma rifles mounted on them?

I'm gonna go with cameras.

I think that this has a pleasingly post-Crash feel: no more gasoline, but someone hooked up a dozen solar powered d0gg0s to pull a truck.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:12 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Yes, but why build a robot to stagger about complaining about what she's done to the weans?

Scotland is notoriously difficult to rule if you can’t keep track of what the weans are up to. That information has got to get shared somehow!
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 4:30 PM on April 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


Manshonyaggers?
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:22 PM on April 19 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]


"Why do you spend all day staring at that weird blue website?" they ask me.

"Well," I reply, "It certainly has its flaws, but I don't know anywhere else on the web where a post about terrifying robot dogs would draw a one word comment that is a reference to Cordwainer Smith from a person whose screen name is a reference to Iain Banks -- and that person isn't me."
posted by The Bellman at 5:23 PM on April 19, 2019 [27 favorites]


Why is that truck so clean
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 5:31 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


"Dogs never bite me. Just Humans."

-Marilyn Monroe
posted by clavdivs at 5:33 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


My dog is much lazier, but he's cuter, and he doesn't poop depleted tungsten everywhere.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:59 PM on April 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


Those aren't heads or plasma rifles.

I'm pretty sure they're manipulator arms.

Don't you feel better now?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:15 PM on April 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


GAH!
posted by darkstar at 6:30 PM on April 19, 2019


> I don't think they realize that most of their videos come a cross as a bit creepy, if not entirely baffling.

I think they know exactly what effect their videos have. We're simply not the people they intend to sell to.
posted by at by at 6:48 PM on April 19, 2019 [5 favorites]


Christ: this immediately made me think of the second act of A Topiary, the unproduced (possibly unproducable?) screenplay by Shane Carruth.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 6:57 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


> I don't think they realize that most of their videos come a cross as a bit creepy, if not entirely baffling.

I think they know exactly what effect their videos have. We're simply not the people they intend to sell to.


I just don't see a strong business model in attempting to corner the supervillain market.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:28 PM on April 19, 2019


You can build your own robot cat if you like: Nybble - World's Cutest Open Source Robotic Kitten | Indiegogo.
posted by zengargoyle at 8:15 PM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


All dogs are good dogs therefore robot dogs are good dogs. It's axiomatic.
posted by um at 8:27 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


I just don't see a strong business model in attempting to corner the supervillain market.

The way things are going, billionaire super-villians who need robots to fend of the pitchforks and guillotines will soon be the only market.
posted by straight at 8:29 PM on April 19, 2019 [11 favorites]


All dogs are good dogs therefore robot dogs are good dogs.

Wow. What's the canine equivalent of toxoplasmosis?
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:38 PM on April 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't fetch that...

Would you like to play Global Thermonuclear War instead?"


This also brings a whole new dimension to the old 'dog dropped a battery on the carpet' and 'I wish I could do that / You'd have to power him down first' jokes.

And inspires a new one: What do you get when you cross a dog with a Roomba? A dog that spreads its poop all over your nice carpet like an Etch-A-Sketch.
posted by zaixfeep at 9:10 PM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


I read an article stating it appeared to archaeologists, the ancient peoples of Stonehenge cannibalized one another. The first thing that came to mind was no, those regular cut marks on the forearms of the ancient Stonehengers, were made by something more like the Boston Robotics dogs...there is no end nor a beginning to our Ouroborosian cruelty as a species.
posted by Oyéah at 9:25 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


If the post hadn't labeled them as 'dogs' I would have guessed giant robot insects. That are strong. They have a real praying mantis- like style of movement. Eek!
posted by Tandem Affinity at 9:30 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


>>Is it just me, or did it look like the front two had plasma rifles mounted on them?

>I'm gonna go with cameras


They all have cameras (that’s how they see); those extra appendages are their hands.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:37 PM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


Ha, I am looking at the satellite view of parking lots in the industrial park where Boston Dynamics is located. I think I gave my son driving lessons right near there (if not that exact parking lot) one holiday weekend.

Needless to say, it only took one teenager to yoke up and pull the car that day. That was the driving lesson.
posted by not_on_display at 10:22 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


If BD partner with Dr Who for K-9 mk II that would be awesome!

I suspect the future'll be more like Toby in the Ballad of Halo Jones.
posted by phigmov at 11:34 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


Between these, swarm drones (both micro and macro), and machine intelligence a.i., things are starting to look a teensy-weensy bit ... dark.

Gather a bunch, couple dozen of each, you could probably shut down a building, like say Nakitomi tower. Where’s your John McClane now? Oh right, the a.i. had the dogs drive him into a closet in the basement.

Hoo golly, maybe the future has some tricks to show us yet.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:55 AM on April 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


Notice they never make cat robots.


Sometimes in the shower, where I am safe, I wonder if I am my cat's robot.
posted by srboisvert at 4:48 AM on April 20, 2019 [8 favorites]


Battery powered. Clackety paws. Hive mind. 12/10

They're good overlords Brent.
posted by The Bellman at 5:13 AM on April 20, 2019 [3 favorites]


Remember when the future was going to be cool and fun and all that? Well, here we are and it's none of those things.
posted by tommasz at 5:39 AM on April 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


Needs moar fucking Kevin.
posted by bendy at 5:39 AM on April 20, 2019


Sometimes in the shower, where I am safe...
posted by evilDoug at 6:18 AM on April 20, 2019


Those robodogs could just as easily be dragging off a protester.
posted by mecran01 at 7:01 AM on April 20, 2019 [5 favorites]


Sometimes I feel like Boston Dynamics happened because someone read Bob the Angry Flower's Atlas Shrugged 2: One Hour Later and went "Oh. Oh, yeah, someone is going to have to get on that."

Or in other words, I think that while the would-be supervillain market may not identify with that unfortunate term, it'll be aspirational and likely even profitable nonetheless.
posted by wildblueyonder at 7:02 AM on April 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


I enjoy dreading the future as much as the next guy, but there’s not much a robot dog can do that a Blackwater security consultant with a gun can’t, and we have those already.

In fact, I can see a future where affordable weaponized robot dogs are the populace’s best defense against the billionaire supervillains’ armies of mercenaries...
posted by ejs at 9:24 AM on April 20, 2019




Bactrian camels would be a smarter choice than robo-dogs or actual dogs.

The original BigDog was more on that scale; I wonder if they're too getting distracted by their own abstract robotics coordination problems and letting practicality slide for the moment. But on a paved surface like this where you have access to power I assume "use another truck" is generally going to be best towing solution anyway.

I think they know exactly what effect their videos have. We're simply not the people they intend to sell to.

I just don't see a strong business model in attempting to corner the supervillain market.


They know exactly what they're doing with the videos. And it's been remarked above, but cornering the supervillain market appears to be a winning strategy, since that's who has all the money.
posted by aspersioncast at 5:37 AM on April 21, 2019 [2 favorites]


Boston Dynamics does make cat robots! You might be able to outrun Big Dog, but probably not Cheetah and Wildcat.

I'm just glad this video didn't have Kevin tormenting the robots.
posted by autopilot at 12:52 PM on April 21, 2019 [1 favorite]


Hello everybody, it's your friendly neighborhood ventilator-dependent quadriplegic who really should be busy writing a very long essay right now. But here I am on the Internet instead, speculating about the future uses of dog-shaped robots because I really need a fleet of tiny robots to do my bidding. The labor of others is expensive and difficult to obtain for disabled people! I see robots such as this as a great equalizing technology. For someone like me, they'll never fully replace human caregivers as I need people capable of abstract thought, but robots could sure relieve a lot of the drudgery that goes into caregiving, and reduce the sheer amount of time it takes to get anything done. (Google "crip time" to get a sense of how disability affects the time it takes to do things.)

Looking through these videos, I can see that Spots are capable of putting glasses in the dishwasher, soda cans in the trash (though it didn't make sure it was empty first), and opening doors. I can further speculate that they'll be capable of sorting laundry and putting stuff in the washing machine, although I doubt they are currently capable of KonMarieing my clothes and putting them away in neat rows in the drawers (unless I get a team of them). With some work, I imagine one could program them to recognize and bring you a book, turn its pages, shelve them afterwards, etc.

But how? The videos don't show the process of programming or operating them. Are they voice controlled, or do I have to press a button somewhere? Can a layperson program them to do simple household tasks, or do you need an expensive "optional" programmer module and a CS degree? Will I need a team of engineers to visit my house and teach Spot how to wash my underwear?

Which leads me to the important question, is there any effort underway to train Spots as service dogs? Certainly they'll never be able to perform all of the functions of a service dog (like looking cute and being cuddly), but there are problems inherent in relying on a flesh and blood creature. Service dogs take years to train, often develop health problems of their own, and have the unfortunate problem of being mortal.

It's disabled people like me who will be the early adopters of these technologies, but are they being built with us in mind? I envision a future in which disabled people will be issued service robots instead of caregivers, and that will either be a disaster or lead to the liberation of the disabled.

All that was just to post this notice: Robot tester for hire, inquire within.
posted by Soliloquy at 1:22 PM on April 21, 2019 [11 favorites]


I wonder how noisy animal muscles were when they were first evolving. Ever notice how quiet they are now?

They made horrible squelching/farting noises for the first million years or so, it was not pleasant.
posted by boilermonster at 9:16 PM on April 21, 2019 [1 favorite]


They all have cameras (that’s how they see); those extra appendages are their hands.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:37 PM on April 19 [3 favorites +] [!]


JFC that video was wayyyy scarier than the one linked in the OP. The way the first robot sat back on its heels and cocked its head/torso, considering, then summoned its packmate telepathically; and then the way THAT one came trotting up and unhesitatingly UNFURLED ITS CREEPY LONG REPTILIAN NECK. And then opened its maw and held it steadily, unwaveringly in place while its body adjusted position for the best predatorial lunge, like a f*cking velociraptor, tiny silver screw perfectly placed to imitate the shine of a beady eye ... urgkkk we're all gonna die.
posted by alleycat01 at 7:17 AM on April 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


It's disabled people like me who will be the early adopters of these technologies, but are they being built with us in mind?

Sadly I strongly doubt it. These are going to help kill people, any side benefit will be more along the lines by which we got WD-40 and duct tape. Prove me wrong, BD! I want some robot service animals on my desk stat!
posted by aspersioncast at 4:33 PM on April 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


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