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The Future is Coming to a Robot Near You (Or Behind, Rather)
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 10:45 AM on October 24, 2008
The Pentagon and the Department of Defence has recently put in a request to contractors for a multi-robot pursuit system to search and track down "non-cooperative humans." The military is worried that controlling robots will take time away from defence officials so creating a pack-hunting AI that will do it automatically will be useful. Once the system is perfected, government officials expect it to become autonomous and armed. Maybe next time, you'll think twice about littering or about to make a "California" stop. That's exactly what this economy needs anyways: a good use of taxpayers' dollars to replace more jobs. [New Scientist]
Today, the machines became a little smarter, as a computer named Elbot managed to achieve a 25% success rate when convincing a human being that they were talking to another human. The experiment is called the Turing Test, after mathematician Alan Turing, and Sunday's saw six Artificial Conversational Entities (ACEs) trying to ace the exam. Word is there was one human dunce in the mix, as all six computers managed to fool at least one interrogator into thinking they were speaking to another person, but none of the machines could officially pass Turing's strict standards.
They may not look as mean as the 
The 
Looks like the day when we all hang out with robots that smoke cigars, throw back drinks and win all our money in poker is edging closer, now that programmers at the University of Alberta have created a Hold 'Em-playing software that can beat poker professionals. The Polaris software was pitted against Poker pros like Nick Grudzien and Ijay Palansky in six games of limit Texas Hold 'Em--it tied on one, lost two and won three.
John Seabrook wrote a 
Using his self-designed AI program, Philip M. Parker has "authored" 200,000 books without ever lifting his pen. While his work features some self-explanatory medical texts like The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Acne Rosacea, most of Parker's publications are 100-300 page industry analysis pieces like DAGENHAM MOTORS GROUP PLC: Labour Productivity Benchmarks and International Gap Analysis. Parker uses his automated software to do basic market research (scouring the internet to pull various facts and figures), and then to completely assemble the book (with charts, a full table of contents and plenty of text). Each can take anywhere from 13 minutes to 3 hours. Here's a clip in which Parker shows off the process:
She may look miles away from crossing uncanny valley, but Nexi from MIT's Personal Robots Group is at least on the way. She's designed to be a "Mobile Social Dextrous" machine that moves like we do when we express emotions. So, she's got fully articulated arms and a head with features that can be motored around to form expressions. Acting out emotions, she's actually rather amazing, in a slightly sad robot kinda way: the video may send a few chills down your spine, no matter how "artificial" Nexi looks now.
Those spiffing fellows at the University of Plymouth, UK are undertaking a research project involving a baby-bot named iCub, which will see the robot actually learn how to speak. The three-foot high robot will help researchers deduce how language is taught, but the further reaching impact of the study include the prospect of developing humanoid robots that can learn, think and talk. Sure, Steven Speilberg has already envisioned such a future, but how far off was he?
These AI Tech Racers from Tomy are some of the more interesting slot-style racecars we've seen. The cars have built-in sensors to detect and avoid obstacles in their path—provided they have room to maneuver—and as a result, they can fly around a track without being locked into slots. Once started, the cars ride on their own, but you can give them a speed burst or hit the brakes if needed. Hit the jump to see these babies in action.
