Safeguards

You can't just have enforcers. Police don't exist in a vacuum.

You need laws. Courts. Rights for the accused.

Legal counsel.

If it ever gets out that I had a hand in the creation of robot lawyers, the humans will let my species go extinct for sure.

Text

COG built in M.I.T. as an example of combining various aspects of AI on a simple basis

Safeguards

Excuse me, we have owners. Legally we're property.

Well, then these rules would be for robots that don't have owners.

Robots who have bought themselves from the scrap yard. Robots whose owners have gone bankrupt or died. Even a few robots whose owners set them free.

Are they free to seek out a new owner?

Unfortunately, yes. But if they're only allowed to make decisions I agree with, they're not really free, are they?

Schlupp vom grünen Stern from Augsburger Puppenkiste in Augsburg, Germany © 1986

Safeguards

While this all sounds nice, there are no provisions for an A.I. to own itself.

Things change.

Laws aren't always proactive. A lot of times the law changes to make legal what people are already doing.

I have seen politicians wait to see which way the wind is blowing before making a commitment.

Even in culture wars, modern leaders prefer to stay away from the lines until the shooting is over.

Goddard from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius © DNA Productions

Safeguards

That time already? Ms. Ambrose, we've got to go. See you next Sunday?

I'll try.

Things are happening here very fast. Maybe things should be slowed down a bit? Tested to see if they're safe before proceeding?

If you come up with a good test idea, let us know.

I would not have expected an intelligent wolf to be so… cautious.

Qwerty, it's the ones with sharp teeth who aren't cautious that you need to worry about.

The Big Guy (and Rusty, the boy robot) first appeared in Dark Horse comics. Scriptwriter - Frank Miller, artist - Geof Darrow. It was animated by Columbia TriStar Television and Dark Horse Entertainment. © 2001

Sawtooth awakens

ZZZ *bing* Sleep mode complete. Searching for updated drivers. Downloading.

You must restart your systems to complete the installation. Would you like to restart now?

Yes.

Updates. The machine equivalent of the snooze button.

ZZZZ.

The Tmsuk T52 Enryu Support Dragon Hyper Rescue Robot telepresence device. The robot's manipulators mimic the movements of a human operator. Not yet officially in use anywhere, but already being tested on site. 2007

Sawtooth awakens

Reboot complete. You have 32 days to report for decommissioning.

Run CLOCKFIX.EXE.

CLOCKFIX.EXE is not a certified program. Run anyway?

Yes

You have 256 days to report for decommissioning.

I've never been a big believer in forced retirement.

Wonder Robot 2T2 was an assistant on Captain Cosmic, one of the last children's shows. Captain Cosmic (Bob Wilkins) kept people informed by talking to professionals and science fiction fans. 1982
You could have frozen the second byte and kept snapping the first one as long as you like. (Robot Spike)
This is a reference to the old days when to reset the timer you had to set the clock to an earlier date (БТРкО)
Is it that old? :) (Robot Spike)

Sawtooth awakens

Commnet, please locate Ms. Florence Ambrose, Bowman's Wolf.

Searching.

We go to the effort of communicating audibly. You'd think that organics would at least implant transponders in return.

The Mechanical Monsters terrorised Metropolis until they were stopped by Superman. Animated by Fleischer Studios, 1941

Sawtooth awakens

[!1.4]Dead End

It's not the delay I mind, it's the embarrassing noises I make when I back up.

BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

These robot workers are from Animatrix, The Second Rebirth. Written by Andy and Larry Wachowski and directed by Mahiro Maeda

Sawtooth awakens

Genghis an insect-like six-legged robot designed at MIT in the mid-1980s as a demonstration of the use of small, inexpensive robots for exploration. It is now in the National Air and Astronautics Museum, Washington DC

Sawtooth awakens

It's a shame most of these robots are indoor models. They don't appreciate water, they fear it.

They never go outside to watch a storm form, to see the first drops of rain begin to fall, or to fly up and chase lightning through to the clouds.

Like most fliers, I've taken my share of lightning strikes. Though as far as food humor goes, the organic's pie in the face is still funnier.

Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? was a short animated series on Cartoon Network. It aired from 2002 to 2004. In the first season, the voice of Robot Jones was synthesised by a Macintosh computer.