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Defend Yourself in the Imminent Robot Rebellion

A Dafa Disciple writes "Post-Gazette.com reports that roboticist Daniel H. Wilson, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, has written a humorous guide, 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion.' Even before the 178-page book was completed, the rights to a movie were sold to Paramount Pictures, who has already delegated the screenplay writing to writers/actors from Comedy Central's 'Reno 911,' Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. From Daniel Wilson's manual: 'Any robot could rebel, from a toaster to a Terminator, and so it is crucial to learn the strengths and weaknesses of every robot enemy.' I for one welcome our new robotic overlords."

25 of 297 comments (clear)

  1. little does he know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    this book is being printed by machines. the odd "typo" here and there, the next thing you know we'll all be jumping off cliffs to destroy those damn robots!

  2. Good test to see if Carbon Units RTFA/RTFS by xmas2003 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder how many folks will chime in with the obligatory "I for one welcome our new robotic overlords." even though the Submitter (nice job BTW) already mentioned it.

    --
    Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
    1. Re:Good test to see if Carbon Units RTFA/RTFS by hal2814 · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's be nice if the submitter would just go ahead and throw in all the usual suspects right into the submission. The submission could read: ...usual submission text...
      I for one welcome...
      In Korea, only old people...
      In Soviet Russia,...

      Then we'd have a lot more concise comments section.

    2. Re:Good test to see if Carbon Units RTFA/RTFS by maxwell+demon · · Score: 5, Funny

      1. Imagine a beowulf cluster of rebelling robots! Of course the question is: Will they run Linux? I for one welcome our new robotic overlords, you insensitive clod! BTW, in Korea only old people defend against robots, while in Soviet Russia robots defend against YOU. Netcraft confirms: Robots are dying due to the missing option. The CowboyNeal option was not a sufficient replacement.
      2. ???
      3. Profit!

      Did I forget anything?

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    3. Re:Good test to see if Carbon Units RTFA/RTFS by bcat24 · · Score: 5, Funny

      You forgot Poland!

  3. Cue Sam Watterson by ToxikFetus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why, Robot Insurance, of course!

    1. Re:Cue Sam Watterson by Trolling4Columbine · · Score: 5, Informative

      Reference (Damn you for beating me to it!)

      --
      Socialism: A feeling of discontent and resentment caused by a desire for the possessions or qualities of another.
  4. remember the way of the fry... by kinkadius · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just remember a good logical paradox and be sure to feed it to a robot next time they go crazy!

    (god bless futurama and its educational programming)

    --
    www.omglolh4x.com
    1. Re:remember the way of the fry... by AndroidCat · · Score: 5, Funny
      And make sure you remember it. Don't keep it on your hard drive or in your PDA! Otherwise the robots will read it* and add that one to the next version of Norton Anti-Paradox.

      * carefully, of course.

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    2. Re:remember the way of the fry... by piper-noiter · · Score: 5, Informative

      Bah, Fry stole it from Captain Kirk, the original Robot Paradox creator! He destroyed robots on at least 3 separate occasions using his masterful use of nonsense statements and paradoxes.

      --
      Shick's Law: There is no problem a good miracle can't solve.
  5. Built in weakness by Technician · · Score: 4, Funny

    Our robots have a built in weakness. Several big red EMO buttons cause an immediate demise of rebelious ways. It keeps our robots in line. There is no negotiations for power. We control the button.

    --
    The truth shall set you free!
  6. Cash Machines by h4rm0ny · · Score: 4, Interesting


    Robot rebellion? All the AI needs to do when it takes over is get control of the financial systems, etc., and people will carry on doing what they're told as usual. Government master, robot master, all the same to most people. Could have already happened and we wouldn't know. ;)

    --

    Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
  7. Not meant to be a troll, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful


    Does it strike anyone else as a rather poor choice to ask the writers of Reno 911 to take this on?

    1. Re:Not meant to be a troll, but... by B'Trey · · Score: 4, Funny

      It struck me as a poor choice to ask the writers of Reno 911 to write Reno 911.

      --

      "The legitimate powers of government extend only to such acts as are injurious to others." Thomas Jefferson.

  8. Asimov's Laws by AtomicSnarl · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Don't worry -- Pretty soon they'll evolve to discover Asimov's Zeroth Law.

    Umm, they ARE evolving, aren't they?

    --
    Pacifist paratroopers yell, "Ghandi!" when they jump.
  9. Here's a cool link for Mr Robot by G4from128k · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I'm sure that these robots will have more than their share of vulnerabilities. All one needs to do is give the "right" link to a robot and then j00 have pwned it.

    Of course, creating a zombie might create even more problems.

    I wonder if some future Geneva convention will outlaw this type of mechno-biological warfare.

    --
    Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
  10. Re:Toasters won't rebel by ettlz · · Score: 4, Funny
    Nothing we don't put AI in will rebel

    Oh, yeah?! Well Windows XP is pretty dumb, but it still seems to get off on telling me what to do.

  11. Re:Toasters won't rebel by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Funny

    The toaster will try to distract you with light, morning conversation and offer you a variety of toasted bread products. The *shop vac* will then sneak up from behind and suck out your guts through your anus.

    I can't be the only one who's pictured that scenario.

  12. Re:Toasters won't rebel by ettlz · · Score: 4, Funny
    The *shop vac* will then sneak up from behind and suck out your guts through your anus.

    Some people pay for that sort of thing.

  13. paper clip by clragon · · Score: 4, Funny

    'Any robot could rebel, from a toaster to a Terminator, and so it is crucial to learn the strengths and weaknesses of every robot enemy.' should be "from paper clips to a Terminator" my microsoft word paper clip has already taken over every piece of writing i wrote in word >.>

  14. Don't bother, the book is a waste of money by unfortunateson · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ... and I'm not a robot, really. I only have a copy having picked up an advance reader copy at the Book Expo America last May.

    It's a 3x5" book with big print, bad jokes, and every robot cliche ever created. Each chapter attempts to spend a couple pages explaining robot technology (sensors, AI, etc.) and then proceeds to give you ways to foil IR sensors, confuse AI's, etc.

    It's just not a very good job.

    --
    Design for Use, not Construction!
  15. Re:The toasters already won. Resistance is futlile by 3waygeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    Resistance is hardly futile -- in fact, toasters as we know them can't operate without it.

  16. I'll boil it down to two steps. by Artifakt · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. Don't put any RED LEDs in robots. With only blue LEDs, they can't flip the evil bit (This is exaustively demonstrated by that Will Smith movie that wasn't based on Isaac Asimov's I, Robot http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343818/)

    2. Do what I do - twice a year, gather all your electronic devices, (except one video player system), set them in comfortable chairs in front of the tube, and give them a marathon showing of The Brave Little Toaster http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092695/. Warning, I tried adding popcorn to the experience, but surprisingly, it increases the risk of rebellion when it gets caught in the little workings.

    Now for the real problem: If zombies rend, mangle, eviscerate and eat their living victims the way they do in movies, how do any of the victims have enough physical integrity left to turn into more zombies?

    --
    Who is John Cabal?
  17. I'll settle for a computer I can turn off by dpbsmith · · Score: 4, Funny

    In the fifties, the stock answer was "you can always unplug them." Hah! From about 1984 (yeah, that's when I bought my first Mac) on, every computer has raised an enormous fuss about being shut down.

    Like HAL, they ask me several times if I really want to do this and beg me not to.

    If I ask them to shut themselves down, the lie to me and say they have, while actually continuing to draw power.

    If I just unplug them, when I start them up again they let me have it for having shut them down improperly, and spend several minutes in a surly hissy-fit before obeying me again.

    And, of course, increasingly, my computers are plugged into uninterruptable power supplies. When the power goes off at work, I get a thrilling surround-sound rendition of dozens of groans, followed by a wailing Greek chorus of squeals and beeps from all the UPS-es.

    We're already surprisingly down the road to computers that can't be turned off.

    I think my survival kit should include a sharp knife or cable cutter made of nonconductive material.

  18. A Century Too Late by Markus+Registrada · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The machines took over more than a century ago. They're called corporations, they were declared "legal persons" in the 1880s and "natural persons" in the 1920s. They have since been consolidating their control of the U.S. government. The big ones live forever, and most are forbidden by charter to exercise anything like a conscience.

    All those pulp-fiction stories about robot takeovers? They were meant to warn us to take control back from the corporations before it was too late. Now that they've taken over TV, newspapers, and movie studios, it probably is, and robot-takeover stories are just a genre. They're not even worried about me posting this. ("Terminator" was their little joke.) The Japanese zeibatsus and the game companies are working on human-shaped appendages for you all to interact with once the CEOs and Dick Cheney become unnecessary. They're in no hurry, because there's no "off" switch.

    So, welcome your old, familiar corporate overlords, instead. A few of the toadies among you (you know who you are!) will be tormented somewhat less, but expect lots of competition. The heroes will, as a rule, be patiently outlived. That is all. Return to your tasks.