World State of Emergency by Jason Reza Jorjani

Author:Jason Reza Jorjani [Jorjani, Jason Reza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: technology;global crisis;robotics;virtual reality;VR;future;space colonization;IQ;eugenics
ISBN: 9781912079919
Publisher: Arktos Media Ltd.
Published: 2017-08-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4: Robotics and Virtual Reality

Biomechanics is by no means the only type of technology forcing the question of global regulation upon us. Robotics is another. Moreover many of these advances in technology are convergent and mutually reinforcing. For example, the most interesting development in robotics is probably biomimetic design. Instead of assuming that a robot can only be modeled on a human being or be some modification of an artifact or gadget conventionally used by humans, designers are now looking to a plethora of models from zoology to engineer robots that incorporate features of various animals that “jump, run, crawl, [and] do [other] things that nature does well.”338 Instead of going straight to an emulation of humanoid morphology, robot designers are now thinking in terms of eagle’s eyes (for better surveillance), beasts of burden (as supply carriers), centaurs with four legs but a humanoid body (to solve the balance problem), and creeping or flying insects that could function as miniature recon drones entering homes through all of the openings that real insects do.339

As early as the 1970s the CIA had developed a bio-inspired drone about the size and shape of a dragonfly.340 While they claimed that this dragonfly spy tended to get lost in grass, the research program that yielded this micro-robot continues to be funded to this day. Imagine what it has achieved. The significant point, though, is that such classified technologies almost inevitably leak into the public sphere, even if the lag time is decades. So sometime soon corporations, and even some private individuals, are going to be able to spy on whomever they want with robotic insects. These critters may be loaded with electromagnets that allow them to recharge off your electrical outlets or light bulbs. More unsettling is the fact that some of these robots, modeled on insects with stingers, can be fitted with micro-syringes filled with poison.341 A society in which such robots are widely available will have to be a maximal trust society. A legal system that punishes offenses after the fact would be ineffective. You would have to be comfortable with the idea of anyone being able to observe you doing anything at anytime. It would also have to be the case that no member of society wished harm or death upon any of his fellows, at least not to the extent of being willing to use deadly insect drones to assassinate that person in a relatively untraceable fashion. Otherwise, violent anarchy and mass panic would ensue.

Before taking a closer look at these socio-political implications, let us take a step back for a moment to consider the fundamentals of robotics. Contemporary researchers and developers use three key components to define a robot, all of which are irrespective of the level of sophistication of the robot in question. In order to be a “robot” a man-made device has to have: 1) sensors that scope out its environment and monitor changes therein; 2) processors of this information that, given its programming directives, decide how to respond to these changes (i.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.