The Future

A robotics firm and a gun manufacturer have joined forces to produce what amounts to an animatronic ‘dog’ with a sniper rifle for a face, managing to terrify more than a few netizens after unveiling the new device at an Army expo.

Dubbed SPUR – or the Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle – the robotic canine packs a gun where its head should be, chambered for 6.5mm Creedmoor rounds, as was first reported by the Drive. The system was developed by rifle producer SWORD International and Ghost Robotics, a Philadelphia-based firm founded in 2015, and made its first-ever appearance this week at the main annual convention for the Association of the US Army in the nation’s capital.

We shouldn’t always trade risk for safety

There is a trope in science fiction movies in which some alien or machine intelligence determines that humans are a scourge, and that in order to protect the galaxy, humanity must be eradicated. There is no shortage of examples, but some personal favorites include The Day the Earth Stood Still, Alien and Planet of the Apes. And who could forget the T-800’s grim prognostication in Terminator 2 that ‘it’s in your nature to destroy yourselves’?

Back in the real world, we aren’t quite at the point of developing an artificially intelligent Skynet that will take control of our nukes and bring about our collective demise. But a Vox piece from last week leaves me concerned that we’re headed in the wrong direction.

You may have met Geoffrey already, an adorable pink robot with hearts for eyes. A chunky, cheery droid who uses the pronouns “they/them” and reminds you to buy local, Geoffrey traverses downtown Toronto offering low-contact, low-cost food delivery at the tap of a smart phone.

How do they do it? In some cases, the answer isn’t local at all: while you may see Geoffrey ambling down your street, their driver might well be based in the Philippines — a 17-hour flight away.

The Canadian brainchild of ex-Uber engineers, Geoffrey is part of a wave of autonomous vehicle innovation that could — quite literally — change the face of the gig economy. For some human delivery couriers, that raises a question now international in scope: what are the implications for workers?

Cute but impractical in the planned urban dystopia of the future where roving gangs of unemployed deliverymen plunder at every opportunity.

HONOLULU (AP) — If you’re homeless and looking for temporary shelter in Hawaii’s capital, expect a visit from a robotic police dog that will scan your eye to make sure you don’t have a fever.

That’s just one of the ways public safety agencies are starting to use Spot, the best-known of a new commercial category of robots that trot around with animal-like agility.

The handful of police officials experimenting with the four-legged machines say they’re just another tool, like existing drones and simple wheeled robots, to keep emergency responders out of harm’s way as they scout for dangers. But privacy watchdogs — the human kind — warn that police are secretly rushing to buy the robots without setting safeguards against aggressive, invasive or dehumanizing uses.

A tech company called TuSimple successfully tested its semi truck to transport watermelons from one state to another, Vice News reported.

However, what is perhaps most impressive is that the trip took 10 hours less than what it would have taken for a human. For most people, that trip would have taken around 24 hours to complete, Alt Driver reported, because human drivers require breaks during every so often.

When the apocalypse comes, most of us will barely notice it’s happening. Most technology-driven dystopias are far too interesting to be realistic: the end of the world will be a grinding, bureaucratic affair, its overriding spirit one of weary confusion — about how things work and who’s to blame when things go wrong.

A Dutch couple have become Europe’s first tenants of a fully 3D printed house in a development that its backers believe will open up a world of choice in the shape and style of the homes of the future.

Elize Lutz, 70, and Harrie Dekkers, 67, retired shopkeepers from Amsterdam, received their digital key – an app allowing them to open the front door of their two-bedroom bungalow at the press of a button – on Thursday.

“It is beautiful,” said Lutz. “It has the feel of a bunker – it feels safe,” added Dekkers.