Mood-Sensing Computer

handy_vandal writes "'A team at Vanderbilt University is ... developing a robotic assistant whose goal is .. [to] respond to the moods of its human master.' For use on the battlefield -- e.g. when a soldier is overcome with anxiety."

Comments

Hmm.

[Renraku]

iMac's that change color based on your mood? That's clever marketing.

well that should be helpful

[banky]

Sir, it seems the entire 3rd Division is feeling a little anxious.

You will also note that most of the Marines in the 187th Expeditionary Force are also nervous about their impending landing.

Lastly sir, the pilots have... the heebee jeebies.

Impending War/Risk of painful death == anxiety

advanced?

[ItalianScallion]

hi, i'm Hal, and i'm really sorry your windows box got hacked. want a beer?

Maybe not a good idea

[bdigit]

I don't know about you guys but if I am having a panic attack the last thing I want to do is talk to anyone. You just want to get out of where you are, fight or flight. Having a robot asking me questions about how I feel really wouldn't ease any of my anxiety. Although a nice feature would be for the robot to dispense some xanax.

battle?

[Billly Gates]

If I think I am going to die in a battlefield and I am shitting in my pants, a robot will do nothing to ease my anxiety or fear. What is it going to do, smile at me when I am freaking out and just trying to survive?

Re:battle?

[kisrael]

If I think I am going to die in a battlefield and I am shitting in my pants, a robot will do nothing to ease my anxiety or fear. What is it going to do, smile at me when I am freaking out and just trying to survive?

Maybe it could inject some really good drugs? Hyperprozac plus adrenalin?

Re:battle?

[ramzak2k]

a sensible one will say

"You got fear !" and then go quiet.

There is however a new 9.0 version will be programmed to systematically bring down your fear.

" Hey Shmuck ! Is that all you got eh ? I can smell the poopie in yo pants. Come on, dont be a sissy ! When I was your age.."

I can see it now

[serps]

"It looks like you're trying to take cover under enemy fire. Do you need some help taking cover?"

What if ...

[SuperDuG]

... the computer sense a little ... you know ... "in the mood" ... "more ready than usual" ... "ready for a different kind of action" ... "ready to play ball" ... "ready to take one for the team" ... "in the mood for some lovin"

If it can cater to that need ... then it is DEFINANTELLY slashdot worthy and should be expanded to a market far wider than the military.

Re:What if ...

[vidnet]

I dunno, it could be kind of a turnoff to hear Clippy say "It looks like you're trying to spank your monkey. Would you like help with spanking your monkey?"

It'd be sad...

[Sonny Yatsen]

It'd be sad when one day your computer will be telling you, "I'm not in the mood, I have a headache."

it better have a breathalizer built in

[SHEENmaster]

So when you're drunk it can stop you from driving.

And if you're really drunk it can keep you from calling exgirlfriends.

Another thing to worry about

[Dark Bard]

Ultimaly doesn't this cause more stress for the soldier? It's one more thing to worry about. If the computer says that your stress level is 10 percent above the norm for a battlefield soldier do you miss a promotion? The information would definately be factored into evaluations. The benefit is questionable but the potential is there for abuse.

obvious target

[SHEENmaster]

The government will buy ANYTHING that sounds cool, whether or not they need it.

I've heard early versions are quite buggy.

[Blue Stone]

Computer: "Sir, I have noticed you are feeling a little horny today, and have downloaded some pr0n for you..."

User: "Gah!...How many times do I have to tell you???! I only looked at the dwarf stuff once out of curiosity."

Computer:"Sir I notice you are becoming slightly irritated.... perhaps a wank will calm you down? Observe the dwarf pr0n.... Observe the dwa.. #clik#

I'm imagining the enemy hacking into the system...

[dagg]

Enemy hacks in and watches the moods of our combatants:

Enemy Underling: Sir, the allied forces are very nervous, should we attack?
Enemy Commander: Not yet.
Enemy Underling: Sir, the allied forces are extremely pissed off, should we attack?
Enemy Commander: Not yet.
Enemy Underling: Sir, the allied forces are extremely happy and some appear inebriated, should we attack?
Enemy Commander: ATTTTTAAAACK!!!!

Talk about pressure

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds like a great way to reduce the soldiers' stress levels.

Commander: Listen up, men! You will notice in your equipment a new MOOD SENSING ROBOT. In the event that you are under DEADLY ENEMY FIRE it will sense that you have anxiety, that you are SCARED TO DEATH and broadcast this to the whole batallion. If you break one, we will take it out of your paycheck. Now move!

Everyone is "anxious" in combat

[jayed_99]

Or, if not anxious, you're FUCKING SCARED SHITLESS! (Or bored off of your ass, but that part isn't pertinent to the rest of my conversation).

People that don't experience anxiety or fear in combat are either (a) too stupid to know better...which means they'll probably be dead soon or (b) are probably clinically insane.

Now, don't get me wrong -- combat is the most intense adrenaline rush that you can possibly experience. It's the real-world version of "fight or flight" over and over and over again. Continuously...for hours and days and weeks. And for some people, that adrenaline rush is enjoyable and addictive. But, as an avowed adrenaline junkie, combat is an adrenaline overdose.

There is a military axiom "Train as you intend to fight". Military training is intended to ingrain patterns of behavior that soldiers will fall back on when their capacity for rational thought has been eroded by the stresses of combat. (I will not digress into a discussion of how that training is mostly centered around "how to kill and survive" rather that "how to comply with the Geneva convention and related accords" -- though that might explain why every army has a history of military atrocities).

A computer assistant -- to be effective in combat -- would have to "learn" its user in situations equivalent to combat. If it didn't, it wouldn't react the same in actual combat. And, I assure you, no training simulation comes close to approaching combat. The combination of "If I make a mistake I will die" and "I am actually killing a person" and "I could randomly die no matter what the fuck I do" is not something that can be realistically duplicated outside of the experience. I would also like to point out that soldiers do *not* respond well to "things outside of normal training parameters". The general inclination is to "shoot it" or "evade detection while trying to decide if I should shoot it".

So what we have is (a) a computer program that has "learned" its user in situations less than combat (b) a soldier that has "learned" preset responses to external stimuli -- including the computer. If you throw the soldier+computer into combat, the computer doesn't know how to react anymore -- not correctly anyway -- because it's never "learned" about combat. The soldier will tend to listen to the computer because that's what he's been trained to do...but the computer is going to be offering suboptimal advice/help/whatever...because it doesn't "know" about combat.

There's definitely roles for computers on the battlefield. Trying to provide stress-relief is probably not one of them. Certainly it's an interesting idea. And one day, it might be plausible. But, now, it's not too feasible. I think that computing will have to evolve quite a bit more before battlefield assistants that monitor emotional states and provide feedback based on that emotional state are truly a force multiplier.

Re:Everyone is "anxious" in combat

[Mac Degger]

You make a good number of points here. But I'd say there is plenty of combat experience which includes interaction with computers with which to train/simulate combat experience with a computer.

For example computers have been in aircraft since at least Vietnam. Then there's the computers which infantary soldiers have had since at least Somalia (that's the one I picked up on from the Discovery channel...certain units had backpacks with camera's and more usefull stuff), and who knows if there haven't been earlier instances.

Computers have been going into battle for a long time; I'd say there's plenty of data to implement certain systems. I wouldn't want a computer to calm me down in combat either though.

All I'd need are some 'danger' sunglasses: whenever I'm in danger, they'd turn black to make me feel safe :)

Re:Everyone is "anxious" in combat

[fucksl4shd0t]

I'd say that you and a lot of other people seem to have missed the big major selling point, as well as some minor ones.

1. If a soldier is unable to call for help, but needs it (such as laying unconscious with his blood decorating the countryside) the computer may sense an "abnormal" condition and call for help. Otherwise, he may die. He may die anyway, with or without medical attention, but this computer would increase his chances of survival and remaining in his own army by notifying the appropriate medical unit of his condition, and where he is.

2. Casualties that need to be recovered can be prioritized in whatever fashion. It would be possible to "home in" on the most dangerously wounded and get them to aid first, because they're in the most dangerous situations.

3. MIAs: He's missing in action, but we know he's alive. Or we know he's dead. Or we don't know because his unit has stopped transmitting, meaning either the unit is damaged or he's been captured. Secondary transmitters embedded within the soldier could give signal that the soldier is still alive but in distress.

These are all very important issues to soldiers on the battlefield, their families at home, the citizens they're protecting (at least, we hope they're being employed to protect us), and the military they are serving.

Detecting mood on the battlefield is more than just knowing how he's feeling, it's also knowing more about what's going on in a tactical perspective.

1. In the command center a light flickers on near the battalion on the left wing showing *surprise*. This kind of data, while inconclusive, is *faster* than waiting for the comm personnel in the battalion to signal that they are under a surprise attack.

2. The general is deciding whether or not to fight or retreat, and his instruments show an overwhelming amount of confidence from most of his troops. He decides to fight when he might have decided to retreat, and goes on to win what had been a hopeless battle. Granted there is a risk involved in this decision and I'm presenting the best case, but knowing how your troops view the battle can give your general a tactical advantage over the opposition.

The article didn't say ANYTHING at all about these machines being a walking counselor trying to help the soldier to feel better. So, with that in mind, READ THE FUCKING ARTICLE.

Yeah but is it real intelligence?

[euxneks]

soldier: AAAAGGH! My ARM HAS BEEN BLOWN OFF!!!
robot: Your ARM HAS BEEN BLOWN OFF?
soldier: YES!!!
robot: What kind of arm is it??
soldier: OH MY GOD THE PAIN IS UNBEARABLE!
robot: Yippee! Your GOD THE PAIN IS UNBEARABLE?
soldier: WHAT??!!! MY ARM!! MY ARM!!!
robot: Where did you get your ARM?
soldier: IT'S BEEN BLOWN OFF YOU STUPID PIECE OF SH*T!
robot: Is it still BLOWN OFF me STUPID PIECE OF SH*T anymore?
soldier faints from loss of blood
soldier: uhhnnn...
robot: Is the holding of hands a symbolic gesture for humans?

Computer as Tool

[lostchicken]

Whenever I read about projects that will alter the way my computer works to better fit what it thinks it needs, I pray that it will never grace my computer. I use my computer as a very, very powerful tool, and, like any good tool, I want it to do exactly what I say, even if it may seem that I am making a mistake. Don't do anything I didn't tell you to do.

The 'mood' sensing properties of a computer system would be the worst kind of unwanted adaptation. It would change the way my computer works according to something I cannot always control fully. I want to be in control of my computer, so to do that, everything my computer does must be based on things in my control.

The new version of Windows...

[VistaBoy]

will probably use this mood sensor to detect if the user is pissed so that it simply refuses to show BSODs when that occur...or they'll make it so that when you're happy it shows yellow screens of death that say, "Have a nice day!"

Self-contained battlefield drug delivery system?

[jgaynor]

Not that this stinks, but this stinks of automated "liquid bravery/no-doze/morphine" delivery. It seems almost tailor-made to be part of an automated battlefield drug delivery system. It could fit into a small beltpack containing a pda sized circuit board, a few vials of specific drugs and a small motorized needle.

-If a soldier, whom the pc knows is "on watch" starts to show signs of fatigue, the device automically injects some caffeine or even ephedra.

-If a soldier gets an arm blown off in a trench far from a medic, the device could automatically inject morphine, or even a heavy coagulant to help his wound stop bleeding.

Wonder which branch of the military Vanderbilt has been receiving its recent grants from :) ?

Combat Clippy

[racerx509]

Clippy: It looks like you are bleeding to death. Would you like some help?

fast forward

[kcelery]

The new generation VCD player should have a mood sensor connected to the fast-forward button.

Peril-Sensitive Sunglasses

[billstewart]

If you're going to have DouglasAdamsWear, go for the right stuff, Peril-Sensitive Sunglasses that detect scary and potentially upsetting things and darken so you won't look at them.

"Wouldn't you really rather go to the basement, RIGHT NOW, than up to the 15th floor? Thank you for making a humble elevator so very, very happy...."

Great!

[JohnnyBigodes]

It'll be really good when I start to get pissed off at the computer and it then decides to work fine withouth any further questions because it saw me waving a 15Kg iron mallet