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- Elon Musk made a monumental announcement on Thursday and unveiled a human-like robot.
- While he insists that it will be friendly, it seems like the beginning of the robot takeover.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Bot on Thursday and it is as terrifying as it is impressive. The humanoid robot will run on the same Artificial Intelligence technology that is used by Tesla’s fleet of autonomous vehicles.
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Musk did not provide too many details on the project, but said that he hopes to have a prototype built “sometime next year.” The unexpected reveal came at the end of Tesla’s AI Day presentation and is the first of its kind.
At 5-foot-8, 125 pounds, the robot will be built from “lightweight materials.” Its head will be kitted out with the autopilot cameras that are used by Tesla’s vehicles and it will be operated by the company’s Full Self-Driving computer.
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Intended to eliminate “dangerous, repetitive, boring tasks,” the robot could, for example, be sent to the grocery store to gather a list of items on your behalf. It could also go out and get the mail or take out the trash.
Robot Risk.
While this sounds absolutely terrifying, Musk ensures that it is “intended to be friendly and navigate through a world built for humans.” However, Musk has previously been against the use of robots as weapons and warned the risks that AI might pose.
He even went to so far as to call AI “the biggest risk we face as a civilization.”
For the Tesla Bot, the design is intended to ensure that the average person could both outrun and overpower the robot. That might provide some semblance of comfort against the idea of a robot takeover.
“We should be worried about AI,” Musk reiterated during a question and answer session after the announcement. “What we’re trying to do here at Tesla is make useful AI that people love and is … unequivocally good.”
To go from a PowerPoint presentation to an actual, working humanoid robot is a big jump. As such, it will probably be quite awhile until you are able to send your Tesla Bot to the bodega for that one thing you forgot on your shopping list or some wraps.
No matter how long it takes, Musk and Tesla’s announcement is a huge step forward in technology. Hopefully this isn’t the beginning of a AI-run society.
You can watch the full Tesla Bot presentation here: