Admit it, we all want a robot that does everything we can't be bothered to do, so we can do all the things we imagine we would do. But probably won't; but it's about options, right? The bottom line is It's one of many dreams we have of the future; a safe, reliable, friendly droid that waits on you hand and foot, supplying you with wine and grapes, like you're some bloated Roman emperor. That does sound pretty good me, to be honest. Make it environmentally friendly, as well as the price of your average UK fridge freezer and I'll add it to my Amazon shopping cart right now! But we all know what to expect, don't we. The reality, every time is an over priced man-child's kids toy.
Come showing off time, It'll predictably waddles forwards unsteadily from left to right on tiny feet across an evenly lit stage towards a grinning host, whilst clutching a rose or something, handpicked by an unseen safer off stage, while it grins coldly with all the passion of an 80's pixelated emoji. Then the shameful creation utters some scripted lines and takes a laboured bow, before exiting the stage as slowly as it had entered. Whenever I have seen these displays I get more and more disheartened. Who buys these things? I can only imagine psychopathic kids with multimillion pound trust funds end up owning them. The only robots that truly impressed me were Honda's Azimo and anything that comes out of Boston Dynamics.
So on to the mighty Tesla...
Like most people who can't afford it and want to save the planet in style, I want a Tesla. Specifically the X100 with the DeLorean style doors. I think it looks wicked! The reputation Tesla has amassed with it unrivalled ingenuity in such a short space of time is astonishing. On top of that, Elon Musk, like him or loath him, is a visionary. He's got Tesla working on solar tiles for roofs, massive battery storage banks, electric cars, trucks and lorries. Not to mention his Boring Company, Space X and Neuralink. This guy again, like him or loath him, knows how to get people motivated. So when I hear hear he's planning humanoid robots, my ears prick up, Vulcan style🖖
The Tesla bot is called, Optimus, and looks like everything we want in a high end robot. I wonder if it even has the obligatory red light bulb for when it inevitably goes psycho? Just a thought. Wouldn't want them to forget to install it. Safety first and all that. Anyway, at the end of September 2022, a small group of people will be able to see this thing in action for the first time. All we know, is it's in the prototype stages. So I guess that's code for expect crapness. What I'm hoping for is something I can see having a genuine practical purpose. For me, this thing has to be able to wash up, hoover, drive me places, dust and clean. Making me feel loved and sex are not things I need right now from a potential appliance. But maybe they're something I'll consider in a future trade in scenario.
With all the money, experience and expertise Tesla have, I'm expecting something that will blow my tiny, cynical mind. I want mankind to achieve this. I want everyone to be able to do everything they want. But in reality, I don't want robots to take away poor peoples jobs. If this project proves to be a huge success, like say, Windows, the internet or the IPhone, governments will have to seriously consider what the people at the bottom will do to earn money to live. That kind of decision will be the difference between a utopian or dystopia society. So as we all know about robots from science fiction and the way corporations work, the future is, and always has been, a fine line between right and wrong, and as excited as I am, I can't help but examine the flip side of the coin and wonder, are we even ready for robots? It could become a pandora's box. A government will, inevitably weaponise robots.
They I'll be used to fight and quell uprisings at home and abroad. We all know it, yet we keep marching forward. Perhaps it's a human fault to pursue a risky course of action as long as you believe you'll never be the one on the receiving end.
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