Slashdot Mirror
DARPA-Funded Robots Learning To Cook By Watching YouTube Videos
jfruh writes Once you've built humanoid-shaped robots, how do you get them to move and act like humans? Well, one way to teach them how to do it is to have them watch one of the greatest repository of recorded human experience ever: YouTube. Robots in a Maryland lab have learned how to prepare meals by watching and processing a slew of cooking videos, one of YouTube's most popular genres.
These types of robots will never replace humans in the fast food industry because high school drop-outs and liberal arts masters grads will always be cheaper. Might make a nice bartender on the long trip to Mars.
Yes, yes, I know. "Machine Learning" ...
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
This is the worst of what could be invented in robotics. If such robot can cut the meat with a kitchen knife, what happens to humanity when it learns from head cutting terrorist videos?
... can they learn to reproduce by watching free porno?
If climate change and the next ice age we're inevitably bringing down on ourselves doesn't destroy human civilization, robots that learn how to behave by watching YouTube certainly will.
Who says they are not learning all sorts of things? Cooking is all they are telling us about. And by they, it could be DARPA or the robots themselves. Maybe they are waiting for just the right time.
I think that's how my wife learned
A bullet may have your name on it, but artillery is addressed to " Whom It May concern"
First of all, thanks for a lot of cool things, the internet being possibly the greatest.
Now, since they are a "Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency", where is OARPA? You know, the Offense Advanced Research Projects Agency?
Somehow, I think there's not one -- and it's not hidden for secrecy reasons. I'm not pointing out that because I'm against them. I even recognize to deal with certain folks which have been asking for lead for some time now.
But I think, since we don't like Russian being hypocrites (or the Chinese, though less so), it would be nice if the western world would be more transparent...
And BTW, if robots are watching the internet, we might as well start writing our wills...
From TFA (which also uses the word "cooking" -the original article on the university website, quoted by TFA, does not, however), they "only" had the robot "recognize" tools used with 79% accuracy, grasps with 91% accuracy, and movements, with 83% accuracy for the description of the movement using words (which is more about digitizing the movement itself... I suppose the naming is "just" a static algorithm "recognizing" movement parts... although they say this is a significant part of this research, the fact the robot does not "simply" try to imitate the movement exactly, but "recognizes" it, and moves as he "thinks" is best to do the same thing). They don't mention anything else, so I suppose this is just that. Tool and movement "recognition", and task reproduction. No mention of the precision of the movement (although once recognized, for known movements and ingredients at least, I suppose the movement could be very precise), no mention about ingredients, no mention about actual cooking, no mention about video sample selection (they do talk about "varied quality and consistency", but that does not mean "a large quantity of random cooking videos with comparable results" of course...), etc.
Aside from that, I think cooking sure could be an "easy" target, considering the more general goal, but there is of course absolutely zero point in itself, in having robots learn cooking by watching videos... Adaptation is of course very important (many things sure can happen in a kitchen, starting with the cooking environment and the ingredients, and any number of possible events which may have problematic and negative physical security and health consequences), but cooking is mostly a very technical task, and having pre-programmed specific verified and perfected recipes would be far more beneficial.
We really should be careful of what video our young impressionable robots are watching.
Only a matter of time before a nature/firmware versus nurture/experience debate becomes a thing for machines too.
Yea i mistyped "cock" instead of "cook" in the search field from which videos he should learn....
It's a Cookbook!
what about viewing some braking bad?
Title.
Just sayin.
This is soo amazing and cool!!!
That's a concept which might end up being a reality. Can't wait for a robot cook.
So everything is going to taste like chicken?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
So what happens when they start watching porn?
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
So everything is going to taste like chicken?
Yeah, except the chicken...
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
Can't wait to see what yummy meals these robots will prepare after watching 'Will it blend' on youtube!
If a train station is a place where a train stops, what's a workstation?
They cook cats.
Table-ized A.I.
I, for one, would love to watch these robots perform after watching some Swedish Chef videos.
Absence of proof != proof of absence.
well under the gop healthcare plan you may want to be in prison if you need anything high cost and you have an preexisting condition
Except these days, most prisons are privately owned and run under government contracts. Their track records speak volumes. They're not gonna spend a dime they think they don't have to to stay profitable. See this, this, and just for the hell of it, this. Further examples can be googled of course.
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
Yep, if they can cook by watching cooking videos, they can also learn about being waiters, auto mechanics and a host of other fixed skill jobs. But let's not put fear into the common masses that their jobs may be obsolete in 10-20 years.
So, half the time they'll be trying to cut you dog in half with a spoon, but part of the reason it's not cutting in half is because they're prodding instead of sawing and the ingredient keeps moving.
Or 83% * 79% * 91% = 59% success rate for tool, grasp and movement types combined, of course this is just one part of cooking a meal. They really should have a video.
Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
Wouldn't it be easier to use YouTube videos to train robot cats?
I guess the initial "dystopia" I painted in this video parable where everyone ends up in prison just to get food to survive after robots take all the jobs is even worse than anticipated:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
"The Richest Man in the World: A parable about robotics, abundance, technological change, unemployment, happiness, and a basic income."
And of course, once you have AIs running the prisons and robot guards, who knows what they will do?
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
Bad humans cooks with bad recipes and low budgets?
Robots really have been preparing food for decades. Almost all food that ends up shrink-wrapped was made by machines. However they were made by specialized machines built for the task required instead of building something that could work in a human kitchen.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
but they have no sense of taste, so they use way too much salt.
"How to Serve Humans" will take on a whole new meaning.