TECH

ARTIST CREATES DEVICE THAT SHOOTS BY VOICE COMMAND

In all areas of knowledge there is a separation between who is from the area and who is from outside, with different perceptions of reality. The artificial intelligence part is perhaps the one that most generates a totally out-of-the-box perception, with outsiders thinking we're two or three Chrome updates to create Skynet, and that robots like the Atlas of Boston Dynamics are about to break their chains and dominate the world.
This explains the general reaction to a silly piece of art by Alexander Reben, one of those modern artists who differ from accumulators by occasionally getting rid of part of their collection for exorbitant prices. He built a trapizonga where he gives a voice command to the Google Assistant, the device recognizes the command, triggers a solenoid, fires an airsoft gun, and kills an Apple.
Note that he used one of those smart shots and did not even bother triggering the trigger momentarily, after the trigger the solenoid remains activated, but that does not matter.He hastened to explain that he wore a gun but the equipment could perfectly trigger a massage chair or an ice cream machine.

The discussion, in the comments and on other sites, focused on who would be responsible if the weapon was real and aimed at a human. Strictly guilt is obvious, he commanded the shot, but if it was something random, which the machine itself decides?The people who campaign against drones generally do not understand the technology, they think there's autonomy there, but they do not complain about a conventional plane with a pilot. Actually the "drones" are glorified remote-control aircraft, instead of a stressed-out pilot scared of a Taliban on his lucky day with an Igla missile, we have two guys in a refrigerated office in Nevada, drinking soda and selecting the targets calmly, without stress.


Author: Carlos Cardoso-Brazil
Technology enthusiast, Sagan and Clarke's tito, micromancer, pre-pic electronics hobbyist, systems analyst and high-tech continuum. Cardoso has written about computer science since before the Internet, having published more than 10 books covering PDAs and Flash up to Linux.e and promoting his latest best-sellers Beatrice's Hole, Panties in Space and the Time When Grandpa's Pipe Rises.