As humanoid robots enter the mainstream, security pros flag the risk of botnets on legs

Imagine botnets in physical form and you've got a pretty good idea of what could go wrong with the influx of AI-infused humanoid robots expected to integrate into society over the next few decades. Morgan Stanley recently predicted robot revenue could surpass $5 trillion by 2050, and firms including Unitree Robotics, Agility …

[Grunchy]

My Optimus is gonna

My Optimus is gonna: walk the dog - feed the animals - change the dishwasher - change the cat tray - fix my lightbulbs - shovel the snow - mow the lawn - build a garden shed - plant a garden - fetch the mail - take the tesla to shop for groceries - bring home some shingles - shingle the roof - pour a new driveway - install a new doorbell - change the winter tires - fix my motorcycle carburetor - fix the garage door - sneak around in the dark collecting catalytic converters - surveil the neighborhood - patrol the property with the rifle to make sure nobody goes after my catalytic converters. Also, it will build me a pair of stilts (I always wanted some).

(I won't let it do any surgery, but I'll let it pay for itself performing veterinary procedures in the bathtub - spay neuter etc.)

[ParlezVousFranglais]

Re: My Optimus is gonna

But just hope your better half doesn't find any "extra-curricular" uses for it while you happen to be out of the house eh?...

[brainwrong]

Re: My Optimus is gonna

There'll be a new man of the house providing for them, whilst the old one lounges around being fat and lazy.

[KittenHuffer]

Re: My Optimus is gonna

Plastering stilts are the ones to go for!

[segfault188]

Plastering stilts

Looking like an accident waiting to happen

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Plastering stilts

I've never tried them.

But I'm guessing you shouldn't try them if you have even occasional poor balance with normal walking. So most of us older types should just keep dreaming, or they might become your latest nightmare.

[trevorde]

Unhackable robot

Man in a spandex suit

[beast666]

Re: Unhackable robot

Just have them watch the BBC and read The Guardian enough and you'll soon see they are easily 'hacked'

[TimMaher]

RedNovember

See, they’ve already overrun.

Supposed to be RedOctober.

[Ken Shabby]

Re: RedNovember

Baffle them with a Crazy Ivan

[Irongut]

What a load of fearmongering CODSWALLOP!

A global population decline would lead to a decline in manufacturing needs so no need to employ robots to make up for a labour shortage that wil not exist. More like a squall than a storm.

"I don't have specific evidence of them going after robotics, although absolutely it's their MO"

If you don't have any evidence then you're just making shit up. Did you get ChatGPT's help with this or is it all your own work?

This Rooke guy is almost as big a liar as Altman.

[FIA]

Re: What a load of fearmongering CODSWALLOP!

A global population decline combined with an aging population.

This Rooke guy is almost as big a liar as Altman.

Is he? Or do you just disagree with his assessment? Do you have examples of these lies?

[Ken G]

Re: What a load of fearmongering CODSWALLOP!

You may be the exception but I'm certainly getting older and so are my friends.

[Pete Sdev]

Re: What a load of fearmongering CODSWALLOP!

The only reason we don't have more robots (of the factory kind) than we already do (e.g. auto industry) is that meatbags are generally cheaper and don't require a large upfront capital investment.

If demographically there's no choice, then robots it is

(The word robot incidentally comes from the Czech for 'worker' IIRC).

[KayJ]

Re: What a load of fearmongering CODSWALLOP!

"Serf" rather than "worker", so it conveys a certain disdain and contempt for the poor things.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What a load of fearmongering CODSWALLOP!

> "Serf" rather than "worker"

Not quite. It was derived by Čapek from the noun robota, which is equivalent in both its strict and figurative senses to French corvée. If Čapek had written in French, these machines would probably be known as "corveurs" (a word I just made up). A serf in Czech would be called otrok anebo poddaný, depending on the exact sense.

[DS999]

Re: What a load of fearmongering CODSWALLOP!

Unless the population decline is caused by something that kills a LOT of older people, a population decline always means a much larger ratio of aged vs working age population. That's the demographic bomb China is facing. They've got way more robots than anywhere else because that's going to be necessary for them. Japan as well.

If the US stops allowing immigration the same will happen here, as there has been a population decline of multigenerational Americans (those whose grandparents were born here) for over a quarter century.

[Clarecats]

Re: What a load of fearmongering CODSWALLOP!

The Japanese agricultural working population is an average age of 69. The proportion over 70 is rapidly growing and the proportion of youth willing to engage in rice paddy farming keeps shrinking. For this reason, Japan has been developing servo-assisted lifting harness to help lug rice sacks around. The senior farmers would probably like a robot to do the stooping and lifting.

https://www.worldfoodprize.org/documents/filelibrary/youth_programs/2020_gyi_papers/DongYixuan_8A6B776FAEC68.pdf

[munnoch]

"Give me your boots"

[Herring`]

You have ten seconds to comply

(Mixing it up a bit)

[MrMerrymaker]

Downvoted for the obvious reference

[Kane]

"Downvoted for the obvious reference"

Downvoted for being a rotter.

[Ken G]

For according to the trollish philosopher Plateau, ‘if you want to understan’ an enemy, you gotta walk a mile in his shoes. Den, if he’s still you enemy, at least you’re a mile away and he’s got no shoes.’

[Anonymous Coward]

Mental Illness

I'm as worried about humanoid robots developing mental illnesses as I am about anything else.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: Mental Illness

I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed.

[Fr. Ted Crilly]

Re: Mental Illness

The diodes again?

[ICL1900-G3]

Re: Mental Illness

Only down my left side.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: Mental Illness

"I mean I've asked for them to be replaced but no one ever listens."

[DS999]

Re: Mental Illness

It is more likely the robots cause mental illness in those they care for. We're already seeing who spend hours a day talking to chatbots becoming suicidal or delusional. If you're an elderly person living alone being cared for by a robot, you're going to be talking to that robot a lot...

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: Mental Illness

"The best conversation I had was over forty million years ago…. And that was with a coffee machine."

[cd11]

Re: Mental Illness

What's worse, having them with mental illness, or having marching in formation down the street shrieking: Exterminate, exterminate.

[Herring`]

Having seen videos of Musk's efforts on this front, if I wanted something that appears vaguely human, doesn't understand simple instructions and is really expensive, I'd look for an MBA

[Boris the Cockroach]

Just need the right

name for them

ED-209 "we had a factory ready to make them, 20 year contracts for sales, spares and repairs, who cared if the things worked or not"

[jonathan keith]

Have we learned nothing from sci-fi films and TV shows?

Why is it that, for quite a long time now, the corporates appear to have confused dystopian fiction with instruction manuals?

Is it as simple as seeing 'board makes massive short-term profits / bonuses and to hell with the consequences' and they think "that's a really good idea" ?

[DS999]

Re: Have we learned nothing from sci-fi films and TV shows?

Because they live under the delusion that because they're very rich they must be very smart to have become so rich (and as a corollary also believe poor people are stupid and lazy) so they won't create that dystopia.

[cyberdemon]

Re: Have we learned nothing from sci-fi films and TV shows?

I think many of them actually *want* to create a dystopia.

Their reasoning is probably along the lines of "the tech now exists to create a dystopia, therefore dystopia is inevatibly coming, and it's better (for me) if I become MechaHitler before someone else does"

[IGotOut]

Ooooo

I've made some numbers up so far in the future that when it turns out to be bullshit, I'll be long gone.

I'll file this with jetpacks, flying cars, the 3 day working week, atomic powered flying saucers and world peace.

[Bebu sa Ware]

"Have we learned nothing…"

A rhetorical question, surely ?

[Ochib]

Behind every evil robot

There is a mad scientist with red LEDs

[Pete Sdev]

Bladerunner Inc.

Time to set up a company that specialises in tracking down and disabling rogue robots.

I wonder if tasers are effective?

[Simon Harris]

Re: Bladerunner Inc.

You can identify the bad ones by their red glowing eyes...

It always happens when robots go rouge.

Mine's the one with the Doctor Who Robots of Death VHS in the pocket --------------->

[Al-ba-tross!]

Re: Bladerunner Inc.

It's the rouge that makes their eyes red.

[cd11]

Re: Bladerunner Inc.

The Cybermen, Daleks, and the Cylons should give everyone warnings.

[Zack Mollusc]

Global population decline

What global population decline? It has doubled in the last fifty years.

[Reality Is]

"My robot is gonna beat your robot up"

Lets think of all the good ol' evil that will come from this.

Serial killer bots.

Assassin bots.

Gang bots.

Professional robot thieves.

The list can go on for ever.

Robot wars between nations, maybe, but might as well play chess with Joshua like a proper lad.

Soon enough robots will be on eBay really cheap. So we will start to see hacked and modded bots, perhaps for robot Rock-em Sock-em events. That could be fun, but in my predictions I see...some kids modding a bot to chase after cars like dog.

Bots being used to attack Governments and police all the time.

Gangs and/or the mafia will turn their modded bots into a gang bots, get a few and they will send them in to rob a robot factory and create a robot army. Then you will probably see robot wars.

I vision a "Trump 3000" robot, where MAGA will live on forever!

Fortunately, the smart humans will destroy all bots and technology. The humans will go back to the cave man life for a 1000 years. Although it might be ruled by robots in the end.

Welcome to Star Wars , "The mindless era, episode 0"

Food for though, what are your bots gonna do?