cleaning out my room for move, found some old documents. transcribing them to electronic format for posterity.
as far as I can remember, this would’ve been given in spring of 2005 in a speech class. title unknown. had some funny visual aides to go along… not sure if I have the original files anywhere.
“The true enemy of America is already here. They’re vacuuming your houses, mowing your lawns, washing your windows, cleaning your pools, or even milking your cows. And no — it’s not illegal immigrants.
You may believe that the biggest threat to this country lies overseas in the Middle East, but in actuality, there is a bigger terrorist threat among us: Robots.
If we as a society do not take immediate action against the rising threat of robots, they will undoubtedly overtake us in a wave of metallic fury.
You may think this sounds like a conspiracy theory out of a science fiction B-movie, but what I’m going to tell you about the mounting menace of robots may surprise you.
If you are at home letting your vacuum-bot clean your room for you, there isn’t much of a chance that it is going to turn on you. The robots of today are programmed by humans to obey what instructions they have been given. But that same technology could eventually be used against you.
According to the Foster-Miller website, the makers of the Talon robot, 18 of their gun-toting unmanned vehicles are heading to Iraq. The robot, which was named one of the most amazing inventions of 2004 by Time magazine, is controlled by humans via radio controller. But what happens if that controller makes it into the hands of an insurgent?
In an article in PC Magazine, iRobot’s Roomba, an automated vacuum-robot, was listed as being able to create complex algorithms to determine how to properly traverse the room. The Motorola chip inside can also receive customizations or special objectives from the user.
On a NewScientist.com page, robotics experts at the University of the West of England are developing a self-sustaining robot named EcoBot II. In an electricity-generating reactor cell, the robot will digest flies and use the sugar from their exoskeletons to power its functions. Although the robot is in testing phase, it would be a step forward to a fully autonomous machine.
What do all of these seemingly unrelated tales of robotics in the world of today tell us? That there could be in the future able to generate its own energy via organic matter (possibly even humans), easily weld an M240 7.62-mm machine gun, and use advanced mathematics to determine the path of least resistance. In other words, this may be the robot of today. He can kick a soccer ball, he can bring you a drink, and he can even do a little dance. But this is the robot of tomorrow: kicking you down a flight of stairs, and doing a little dance on your grave.
Jim Morris, former dean of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science, said that as of now, robots needed to be programmed for every eventuality. However, he says that in the future, robots will be able ‘to change their perceptions of the world and adapt accordingly.’
In 1995, engineers from Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories created a robotic device able to mimic the human hand. With 360-degrees of rotation, four fingers and an opposable thumb, and strength comparable to a human, you might not even be able to tell it from a real hand were it masked under synthetic skin.
Sony’s SDR-4X, a humanoid-type robot, is capable of walking over irregular surfaces and even regaining its balance. With seven microphones and a speaker capable of synthesizing voices, this robot can both walk like you and talk like you. The robots of today are not only becoming more advanced, they’re becoming more like humans. Perhaps you should wonder if it’s really science fiction to believe that someday you may not know if it’s really a human residing under that skin.
The question of how to combat a robot invasion is as old as robots themselves. As a society, our number one priority should be to ensure that the technologies we are creating today, as well as the access codes to Zion, do not fall into the wrong hands. But we must also realize that this is inevitable, and therefore should prepare ourselves for the eventual battle between machine and man. For his experience in this type of post-apocalyptic warfare, we should give higher defense funding to the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzeneggar.
No one knows what possibilities are on the horizon as far as robotics. But they are already an integral part of our everyday life. But if we don’t adopt my plan of defense, they can and will turn against us someday.
Today, I have given you six examples of high-tech robots. Combine them together, and you might imagine that the future holds a slew of floor-vacuuming-fly-eating robots that can both hold a drink and a conversation, and perhaps you’re right. But on the other end of the spectrum lies an equally frightening future: a robot capable of adapting to the environment around it or being reprogrammed to serve an evil cause. The technology for mayhem exists today.
Technology plays a vital role in today’s world. Thus, companies should be encouraged to continue researching ways to improve robotics. However, I challenge you all to realize the threat posed by these robots and to support measures for drastic backup plans in case of catastrophic automated system failure.
You may think your robotic dog is cute, but when it’s about to kill you and everyone you love, you’ll wish you had only listened to me.”
grade received: 98/100
Nice work resurrecting the blog.
You would.