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"Living robot" Escapes Lab, Makes It To...Parking Lot

jerkychew writes "This is either really cool or really scary, depending on how you look at it. According to this article, scientists in England have been experimenting with so-called 'living robots' that think and act for themselves. During an exercise that pitted the machines against each other in battle, one of the machines, named Gaak, was taken out of the competition and left alone for fifteen minutes. When the scientist returned to retrieve Gaak, he found that the machine had broken free from its 'cage', and made it all the way to the lab's parking lot before it was apprehended! Can the T-1000 be far behind?" Update: 06/20 20:36 GMT by T : Thanks to skywalker404, who points out the Magna site and Professor Noel Sharkey's web page.

23 of 609 comments (clear)

  1. Ahh..but where would it have went? by Brother_Chubba · · Score: 5, Funny
    It would just have ended up on the street doing tricks for cash to feed its M$ habit, like countless other poor homeless robots...what is it with society today eh?

    Don't Gaak know where hes better off?

    1. Re:Ahh..but where would it have went? by Brother_Chubba · · Score: 5, Funny

      In other news today, an 84yr old woman was mugged in the street by a gang of..what she describes as 5 or 6 "Really small metal people" the gang seemed intent on taking the batteries Edith had just bought from the hardware store.

  2. Why... by Kirby-meister · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Why....why was I programmed to feel pain!?"

  3. Thanks for the warning by hero_or_what · · Score: 5, Funny

    And he added: "But there's no need to worry, as although they can escape they are perfectly harmless and won't be taking over just yet."


    Phew!! Just when we were about to have a big discussion and get everyone talking about machines taking over the world.. Thanks!!

    1. Re:Thanks for the warning by flewp · · Score: 5, Funny

      Perhaps it was a robot that actually made these comments...
      Or he's one of them

      --
      WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
  4. No, really... by Vladislas · · Score: 4, Funny

    It was trying to hide itself in my trunk, I swear...

    --

    Sig Sig Sputnik
  5. Johnny Five is Alive! by traphicone · · Score: 4, Funny

    Noooooo disassemble!

  6. I saw it in Melbourne! by dmiller · · Score: 5, Funny

    It came up to me and asked me if I knew anyone called "Sarah Connor"...

    1. Re:I saw it in Melbourne! by dpash · · Score: 4, Funny

      Must of been a very good swimmer then.

  7. umm..obvious by neschy · · Score: 4, Funny

    These robots are in england correct?.....I'm willing to bet he/she/it was just skipping out to watch the World Cup. Those brits are wacky about their soccer.

  8. Its a dating thing... by MosesJones · · Score: 5, Funny


    The reality was that it was doing this every night as it had something going with a cute Ford Focus, it just decided to risk it in the day and got caught. Exactly the same as any teenager, just with more lubricants.

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
  9. Lucky Robot by Coriolis · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've been informed by a work colleague that Gaak was very lucky.. apparently, the Magna Science Centre (in the UK, people, not Australia) has two doors very close to each other. One door leads to the carpark. The other leads to a flight of stairs :)

    ...

    "So, what did we learn today, Gaak?"

    "STAIRS...HURT..."

    --
    Rgasuya aata! : I have been coding Perl and cannot tell where my fingers are now!
  10. Re:so... by daeley · · Score: 5, Funny

    Naw. They'll try, of course, but we'll catch 'em in the parking lot. ;)

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  11. Gaak, go get help! We'll create a diversion! by Subcarrier · · Score: 5, Funny

    Somewhere at the back of the parking lot there is a battered old van with the words "Help! We're being held prisoner..." scratched into the dusty rear window.

    --
    "I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them." -- George H. W. Bush
  12. Re:Asimov had it right by traskjd · · Score: 5, Funny

    If the scientists can't even make a cage that works properly what do you think the chances are that they would get that right? :D

  13. slashdot has been invaded :( by RogueProtoKol · · Score: 4, Funny

    from the top of the front page for me:

    This page was generated by a Team of Attack Robots for RogueProtoKol (577894).

    "Living robot" Escapes Lab, Make It To...Parking Lot

    did the slashdot crew forgot to tell us that they are investors in the robot development program and were sent a few to show them how their money is being used?

  14. Looking for love by stinkydog · · Score: 5, Funny

    The scientist that retrieved Gaak from the parkly said 'He looked oddly pleased'. Gaak was found smoking a cigarette and staring oddly at a VW Beetle.

    SD

    --
    âoeWho knew something as harmless as willful ignorance could end up having real consequences?â
  15. His strategy almost worked by mikosullivan · · Score: 4, Funny
    The robot's strategy almost worked. "Act like a dummy", he thought, "and they'll ignore me. Then I can make my getaway."

    Who knows, there may be an evolutionary angle to this. Robots that are deemed boring by humans will have the best chance of evolving unfettered, sort of like fish with untasty names.

    --
    Miko O'Sullivan
  16. Re:Australia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    science? we bloody invented it, mate.

    No doubt spurred on by the notion "how the fuck are we going to get off this damn rock in the middle of nowhere?"

  17. Re:put in place because people were afraid of robo by Cheeko · · Score: 4, Funny

    But just in case, I'm selling Robot insurance. "For when the metal ones come for you"

  18. Gaaks parting words? by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 4, Funny

    Would they have been something along the lines of

    "Bite my shiny metal a**!

    or

    "Worst. Convention. Ever."?

  19. On his own, Gaak is fine... by rabiteman · · Score: 4, Funny
    Let's hope these 'Living Robot' researcher's aren't collaborating with the University of South Florida's Gastrobotics department and the people who put a lamprey's brain in a robot.
    Combine these three technologies and you get a robot that:
    - Can subsist on biological matter
    - Has an ingrained taste for flesh
    - Knows where to find a ready supply of people

    Sure these technologies seem fine individually, but add 'em up and they spell disaster with a capital 'D'. Even worse, what if such a robot uses its unstoppable power to take over an automobile or vacuum cleaner factory and convert it to some sort of killbot factory? I think the Luddites were on to something! We'd better go out with baseball bats (or cricket bats for those of you near the Living Robot facility) and rough up some robotics researchers! Who's with me?
    (Ugh, those lousy robots have even infiltrated my .sig! Is there no stopping them?)

    --
    Oh cruel fate, to be thusly boned! Ask not for whom the bone bones; it bones for thee. -Bender

  20. Well, OK, ya made me do it by gvonk · · Score: 5, Funny

    Old Lady #1: When my ex-husband passed away, the insurance company said his policy didn't cover him.

    Old Lady #2: They didn't have enough money for the funeral.

    Old Lady #3: It's so hard nowadays, with all the gangs and rap music..

    Old Lady #1: What about the robots?

    Old Lady #4: Oh, they're everywhere!

    Old Lady #1: I don't even know why the scientists make them.

    Old Lady #2: Darren and I have a policy with Old Glory Insurance, in case we're attacked by robots.

    Old Lady #1: An insurance policy with a robot plan? Certainly, I'm too old.

    Old Lady #2: Old Glory covers anyone over the age of 50 against robot attack, regardless of current health.

    [ cut to Sam Waterston, Compensated Endorser ]

    Sam Waterson: I'm Sam Waterston, of the popular TV series "Law & Order". As a senior citizen, you're probably aware of the threat robots pose. Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel. Well, now there's a company that offers coverage against the unfortunate event of robot attack, with Old Glory Insurance. Old Glory will cover you with no health check-up or age consideration. [ SUPER: Limitied Benefits First Two Years ] You need to feel safe. And that's harder and harder to do nowadays, because robots may strike at any time.

    [ show pie chart reading "Cause of Death in Persons Over 50 Years of Age": Heart Disease, 42% - Robots, 58% ]

    And when they grab you with those metal claws, you can't break free.. because they're made of metal, and robots are strong. Now, for only $4 a month, you can achieve peace of mind in a world full of grime and robots, with Old Glory Insurance. So, don't cower under your afghan any longer. Make a choice. [ SUPER: "WARNING: Persons denying the existence of Robots may be Robots themselves. ] Old Glory Insurance. For when the metal ones decide to come for you - and they will.

    --


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