Would You Shoot R2-D2 in the Face?

http://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/01/would-you-shoot-r2-d2-in-the-face/

by edent • 13 years ago

14 12 13 years ago

shkspr.mobi

mda• 13 years ago

Not R2-D2 but definitely would shoot C3PO.

mjolk• 13 years ago

I don't even know what hackernews has become.

Cthulhu_• 13 years ago

Pretty sure we'd start associating bleeping domed bipeds (and from time to time tripeds) with fear and death as soon as they arm them and start shooting people.

And teletubbies have always been terrifying.

TeMPOraL• 13 years ago

This post has a point. My gut reaction to the Boston Dynamics video at t=35s? Disguist. "Why would you treat a creature with such disrespect and hate?". Of course I know that was to demonstrate how dynamic stabilization of the robot works, but it really felt like he was kicking a dog.

downer87• 13 years ago

Bah! I feel the extreme total opposite. When he kicks the robot, I'm deeply disturbed by the fact that the robot is undaunted.

I've always chalked it up to an uncanny valley reaction. The buzzing noise of the on-board 2-cycle engine (power generator?), combined with the freakish, threatening movements raises my hackles every time.

Every time I see robots like Big Dog, I feel a visceral instinct brewing within me, prompting me to find ways to annihilate them with rocket propelled grenades.

JonnieCache• 13 years ago

I think R2D2's voice is the key. It's the burblings of a baby, put through the almighty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARP_2600

Obviously this is a sound we're programmed to respond sympathetically to, even after the processing.

edent• 13 years ago

That's interesting. I hadn't considered how close it is in pitch & sound to a baby's cry.

writtles• 13 years ago

Very true! Also, it's pretty clear that R2 demonstrates conscious personhood so "he's" much more than Big Dog already.

crusso• 13 years ago

How long before vindictively destroying your robot pet is tantamount to animal cruelty with the legal connotations?

How long before turning off and deleting an AI is murder?

This is all stuff that scifi has been considering for a long time.

cema• 13 years ago

Only if it has a face.

dethtron5000• 13 years ago

This reminds me of some of the tactics suggested by the First Earth Battalion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Earth_Battalion) which was profiled in the book/movie "The Men Who Stare at Goats." The organizers of that suggested that soldiers should parachute into conflict zones carrying baby animals to disarm (figuratively and literally) enemies.

mseepgood• 13 years ago

Daleks look cute as well, yet I would kill them without a blink of an eye.

Would You Shoot R2-D2 in the Face?

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