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Tesla says it’s entering Optimus in the Boston Marathon.
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Good sci-fi is a cautionary tale. Jules Verne predicted submarines and nuclear power, for example.
This is a combination of “I, Robot” and “Metalhead” (Black Mirror). In fact, here is Metalhead:
We really shouldn’t be doing these things, but we will anyway.
Elon didn’t have to risk entering the robot in the race.
Tesla’s showroom in Boston on Bolyston Street is a few steps from the finish line. Positioning the robot outside created a viral marketing sensation at a zero dollar cost to Tesla. Much like the nonsense Elon has been posting on Twitter over the years has sold more cars than the multi-billion dollar advertising and marketing campaigns funded by GM and Ford.
Elon understands that American business thrives on “skim, scam and fraud”. And if you’ve paid off the right Members of Congress, you’ll never pay for your crimes.
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Watchman seems to be a good use for a robot. They are mobile and can cover a wide area. They can easily notify staff if they find something unexpected. Human manpower required is reduced.
You wonder how they deal with common exceptions like a thunderstorm, or a leaf blowing through their field. Programming needs to be extensive. Maybe less than self driving vehicles but still must deal with many possible situations.
Using such robots to pick up trash along highways would look attractive too. I wonder if criminals would steal the robots.
Without getting into the “replacing human workers” angle (which is its own issue), the robotic dogs will get upgraded. First, they just patrol and notify. Then they are given the capability to interdict, perhaps by taser. The military will be interested in arming them. Etc. The end result will be “Metalhead” (if you haven’t seen that Black Mirror episode, it really is excellent).
As I said, we should not be going down this path. But we will. Or the Chinese will. Or the Russians will. In the end, everyone will because they want to counter whomever is the first to do it.
At least drones have operators. Humans that decide if a trigger is pulled. Often teams of humans giving layers of authorization. Sure, they make mistakes. But I would not trust machine intelligence at all.
Arming watchdog robots has interesting implications.
If you boobytrap your outbuilding with say a shotgun, the law takes a dim view of your crime if someone gets shot. I wonder how prosecutors would deal with a robot that shot an intruder. Its hard for a robot to claim self defense.