Robohub.org
ethics
An ethical dilemma: When robot cars must kill, who should pick the victim?
Jason Millar
11 Jun 2014
Image credit: Craig Berry
We are moving closer to having driverless cars on roads everywhere, and naturally, people are starting to wonder what kinds of ethical challenges driverless cars will pose. ...
Pure autonomy: Google’s new purpose-built self driving car
Ioannis K. Erripis
28 May 2014
Google completed a major step in its long and extensive self-driving cars project by presenting its first purpose-built autonomous car, which is designed from scratch for its role and is not a modifie...
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RoboRoach, with Bill Reith and Oliver Bendel
Ron Vanderkley
16 May 2014
In this episode, Ron Vanderkley speaks with Bill Reith, an engineer at Backyard Brains. The company develops RoboRoach, the world’s first commercially available “cyborg”, which was successfully ...
What should a robot do? Designing robots that know right from wrong
AJung Moon and Footnote
29 Apr 2014
A large robot comes out of an office mailroom carrying a package marked “Urgent” to deliver to the boss upstairs. After navigating down the hall at maximum speed, it discovers someone is already w...
Privacy, Google, and Big Deals, with Avner Levin
AJung Moon
07 Mar 2014
Link to audio file (33:53)
What does it mean to have giants like Google, Apple and Amazon investing in robotics? Since last December, Google alone has acquired a handful of companies in robotics, hom...
AJung Moon on “What does it mean to have giants like Google, Apple and Amazon investing in robotics?”
AJung Moon
12 Feb 2014
We have reasons to feel both excited and uneasy about giant corporations’ investment in robotics.
It’s exciting for the robotics community that the giants (Google, Apple, and Amazon) are active...
If you could enhance yourself with some robotic accessory or implant, what would it be?
RBI Editors
15 Jan 2014
cy·borg - ˈsīˌbôrg/ - noun
a fictional or hypothetical person whose physical abilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by mechanical elements built into the bod...
AJung Moon on “If you could enhance yourself by some robotic accessory or implant, what would it be?”
AJung Moon
15 Jan 2014
As a researcher in robotics, I tend to cringe whenever someone asks how long it will take until people start to see terminator-like robots on the streets. It’s a fun question to think about, but it ...
AJung Moon on “What were the top stories in robotics from 2013?”
AJung Moon
11 Dec 2013
2013 was a year filled with talk of drones.
I’m not saying this just because I’m biased by the recent news reporting on how large companies (Amazon, DHL, and UPS to be exact) are exploring t...
Working with EOD Personnel, with Julie Carpenter
AJung Moon
29 Nov 2013
Link to audio file (34:30)
In this episode, AJung Moon talks to Julie Carpenter, a recent graduate of the University of Washington who interviewed 23 U.S. Military Explosive Ordnance Disposal person...
Ethical robots: Some technical and ethical challenges
Alan Winfield
19 Nov 2013
I've been talking about robot ethics for several years now, but that's mostly been about how we roboticists must be responsible and mindful of the societal impact of our creations. Two years ago I w...
Legal issues with robots | Communications of the ACM
CIS Blog
11 Nov 2013
There is no question that robotic technology is making life easier, safer, or more convenient for human beings. Despite these benefits, concerns remain about what happens when robotic technology fails...
Don’t blame technology for persistent unemployment | Slate
John Payne
06 Oct 2013
Posting on the Slate blog Future Tense, James Bessen takes issue with the notion that technology causes unemployment, illustrating his point by debunking a pair of frequently cited examples, textile w...
Paradigm shift
Frank Tobe
20 Jul 2013
Global Future 2045, held June 15-16 in New York City, had a big impact on me.
The double-message promotion of GF2045 was intriguing and I thought it would be similarly interesting to my readers. PR...
Meet the man behind the push to ban killer robots | Motherboard
CIS Blog
14 Jun 2013
To bring clearer into focus the backdrop of killer robots and the threat they pose, I talked to Peter Asaro, co-founder of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control. The author of the UN rep...
Drones & Aerial Robotics Conference at NYU
Kate Darling
22 May 2013
Call for Proposals (closes May 27)
Drones & Aerial Robotics Conference
October 11-13, 2013
NYU School of Law...
We Robot Conference: 4. Social robot demo
Kate Darling
21 May 2013
On April 8-9, Stanford Law School held the second annual robotics and law conference, We Robot. This year’s event focused on near-term policy issues in robotics and featured panels and papers by sch...
Autonomous lethal weapons, with Peter Asaro
AJung Moon
17 May 2013
Link to audio file (29:07)In this episode, AJung talks to Peter Asaro from The New School in New York city about autonomous weapons systems. Peter tells us about the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, an...
Robotic Justice | Huffington Post
CIS Blog
13 May 2013
From Roombas to drones, scientists are developing machines to be more and more self-sufficient. But even if they’re programmed to do good—what happens when something goes wrong? If a robot 'accide...
Campaign to Stop Killer Robots: Let’s all stop them, shall we?
AJung Moon
27 Apr 2013
Killer robots.
Looking at the two words together is enough to conjure up images of chaos and destruction. They're an image far too familiar in science fiction settings such as Isaac Asimov or Ar...
Stopping the deployment of “killer robots” | Humans Rights Watch
Mike Hamer
23 Apr 2013
In November last year, the Human Rights Watch released the "Losing Humanity" report (which we've already covered on Robohub). This report discussed the role of robots in armed conflict, summarized th...
We Robot: Live coverage on robotics and the law
Robohub Editors
06 Apr 2013
Updated April 9, 2013 | Check this post for our live coverage of the We Robot conference happening April 8-9 at Stanford Law School....
Nate the Robot RH.3 – The Expendables
Jim Haas
22 Mar 2013
So if you really think about it, today's comic brings up several interesting issues regarding robots and war. One that comes to mind that is certainly not anywhere near a reality, is what if robots ...
How will robots shape the future of warfare?
RBI Editors
15 Mar 2013
Updated March 17, 2013 | This month we've asked our experts to weigh in on the future of robotics in warfare, and the broadness of this topic has prompted some of our panelists to push back and reques...
Active military robots around the world
Ioannis K. Erripis
15 Mar 2013
This is a brief presentation of some of the most widely used robots (or remotely controlled, semi-autonomous systems) from militaries around the world. There are numerous other projects that are curre...
Robohub focus: Robots and warfare
Hallie Siegel
13 Mar 2013
For the rest of this week, Robohub will have a special focus on the use of robots in warfare.
All kinds of robots are being developed for strategic defence and military action (in space, in the...
Mark Tilden on “How will robots shape the future of warfare?”
Mark Tilden
13 Mar 2013
Robot machines have been shaping the future of war since the first siege engines appeared in ancient times (I like to think the Trojan Horse was motorized). Now with technology significantly exten...
Raffaello D’Andrea on “How will robots shape the future of warfare?”
Raffaello D'Andrea
13 Mar 2013
How will robots shape the future of war? I don’t know. I think that the more important question, however, is: what role should robots have in warfare?
In my answer I have tried (as much as is h...
Giving rights to robots, with Kate Darling
Podcast team
08 Mar 2013
Link to audio file (22:47)
In this episode, we talk with Kate Darling from the MIT Media Lab, about giving rights to social robots. She tells us about a recent Pleo torture session she organized at...
Drone filibuster delays US Senate’s vote on new CIA director
Hallie Siegel
07 Mar 2013
A US Senate vote to confirm John Brennan as CIA director was delayed by a 13-hour talking filibuster by junior Republican Senator Rand Paul.
US President Barack Obama has faced criticism in hi...
The death of search (or, My dysfunctional relationship with Siri)
Mark Stephen Meadows
06 Mar 2013
This article looks at the arrival of systems such as Siri, Google Now, and Watson and claims that these systems are the search engines of the next decade because they mine intimate data. Since they ...
MotherboardTV documentary on drones
John Payne
09 Feb 2013
http://youtu.be/kwkxx84wXNo
This video, by MotherboardTV, was posted on YouTube in early December, but, at just over 50,000 views, it hasn't yet reached the audience it deserves.
Not knowing muc...
Losing Humanity: The case against killer robots
Mike Hamer
20 Nov 2012
Released yesterday by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization, the report Losing Humanity: The Case against Killer Robots (herein: the report) and associated press release and video (below), w...
Digital cultures, with Chris Chesher
Podcast team
16 Nov 2012
Link to audio file (34:22)In today’s episode we speak with Chris Chesher about how he views the emergence of robotics. He brings a new and interesting perspective as his approach mixes science and ...
Isaac Asimov explains his three laws of robotics
Andra Keay
06 Nov 2012
For those of you who aren't familiar with Asimov's Laws of Robotics: First Law: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.See on io9.com...
