Russia shows off robotic gunslinger
Commentary: Russia's deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, proudly tweets video of a Russian Robocop in action.
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
This one's clearly a defector.
As the promise of warfare wafts across the world, it's worth focusing on the future and whether the world has one.
Conveniently, one of the countries that currently seems a touch bellicose, Russia, has unveiled a robot that seems very battle-ready.
On Friday, the country's deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, tweeted video of the F.E.D.O.R robot and its most delightful capability. This robot can, like the finest of metal cowboys, stand legs akimbo and shoot guns with both hands.
Rogozin offered these words to accompany the video: "Russian fighting robots -- guys with iron nature."
I'm not sure I'd like to face this robot's iron nature, especially if his skull is also made of iron. One false bit of programming or mistaken identification and he would me blow me hasta la vista. Or, at least, hasta el horizonte.
You might think, indeed, that many of these robots are being built to prepare for a Russian assault on, say, a neighboring country.
Instead, Rogozin insisted when posting images of the robot, its aim is peaceful. "We are not creating a Terminator, but artificial intelligence that will be of great practical significance in a lot of spheres."
Naturally, one would love to take him at his word and not worry that "spheres" might mean, for example, Poland.
Sadly, I have too much Polish blood for that.
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