Robotaxis don’t get fines

We already commented before that you need a person behind the wheel for police to give you a ticket. Cars don’t break the rules, people do. This time around it seemed to have pissed off people on social media that SF Police could not issue a fine to a Waymo car after doing a U-turn, which the article says would have cost you $200 if you had meat behind the wheel.

I guess that’s a perfect example of how algorithms seems to build an invisible wall that shields programmers from any responsibility, at least in Software Defined Vehicles. Robotaxis have been on streets now for a few years. Let’s get legislation up to speed here as more and more robots roam our streets.

Bury me with my Hyodol

Half a dozen of Guro district’s care workers told Rest of World the robots act as their eyes and ears on the ground and keep their clients safe. Maintenance of the robots has increased their workload, but it’s worth the effort, as the robots are a psychological salve for seniors, they said. But the bonds some people forge with their Hyodol raises complicated questions about safety and privacy. 

AI robot dolls charm their way into nursing the elderly

Fascinating article full of gems, by Rest of World, on the relationship between caregivers, elderly patients and their android assistants. This single quote summarizes the three main issues, further detailed in the article, with the introduction of robodolls in nursing homes:

  • big tech surveillance of vulnerable people
  • remodeling of caregiver’s role and relationships with patients
  • psychological attachment to chatbots

Robotaxi or robocop?

Young person doing a wheelie on a bicycle. Background has a car in flames.
Photo credit: Blake Fagan

Current protests and demonstrations in Los Angeles have got the most successful robotaxi company (so far) to stop its operations in the city for now. Because, turns out, a car full of high end cameras is not welcome when conflict with law enforcement is at its highest.

The problem is that the cars’ cameras are constantly recording, creating a trove of information police can use.

Full automation means also full surveillance. Who knew?

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/why-protestors-are-burning-waymo-self-driving-cars-in-los-angeles/ar-AA1GnrQj

Stepping on children’s toes

This incident between a Unitree G1 and a child in what looks like a demo presentation in a mall seems like it could have ended much worse than what it looks like. The robot has obviously no idea what just happened. Only a shoe got removed. The child does not seem hurt. I don’t know how much these machines weight, but they don’t seem light. Luckily, the robothing turned right and didn’t trip over the kid. Everyone seems amused. This is fine.

ᔥ reddit.com

Your Amazon package might be delayed

This video shows two Amazon warehouse robots, each carrying a package, getting into some kind of dance. It could also look like one is bullying the other by preventing it from escaping a difficult position. I guess we’ll never know the end of that story. Human intervention sounds definitely necessary.

↬ https://fed.mthie.com/@mthie/114155926485501477

Human trapped in an AI loop

A brave tech worker trusted a robotaxi to drive them to the airport. The robotaxi got stuck in a loop on a parking lot, driving in circles, as you can see in the video below. This situation is both funny and scary and we can sense the stress and disbelief in the voice of this passenger.

I do have many questions:

  • Why isn’t there some kind of emergency button you can smash in case of danger? All public transportation have that since before computers were invented.
  • Why didn’t the passenger try to jump in the front seat and take control of the wheel? That must trigger some emergency mechanism also, I believe. Instead, they reached for their phone to call tech support and Tech support asked them to « open the app again and click on the bottom left icon». I do recognize that it needs some physical condition and guts to try this approach that maybe most people don’t have.
  • Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be more and more common as we automate most of our basic services with AI? We already get in AI loops with robocalls and robosupport menus when we call a service because our credit card is blocked or the dishwasher does not connect to the Wifi anymore. It’s very obvious that it’s almost impossible to prevent these automated systems to drive humans in circles or jump off a cliff when «Sorry, the situation you’re experiencing right now does not exist ».

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mikejohns_lyft-uber-omg-activity-7271962168286191617-E7j4

Your emotional companion is being turned off forever

As predicted here 4 years ago, giving a VC-funded cloud-based animated robot as an emotional companion to your child is a risky move.

With VC funding drying out, the startup behind this “amazing” concept has to turn off the cloud computers needed to keep these teddy bears “alive”.

Since Embodied marketed Moxie as a companion and development toy for children, there’s concern about kids potentially suffering an emotional toll after the robot abruptly becomes inoperable.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/12/startup-will-brick-800-emotional-support-robot-for-kids-without-refunds

I will not post here the viral video of a father announcing the news to his crying child. Why would you even film something like that?