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This year we took small, important steps toward the Singularity
We won't have to wait until 2019 for our Blade Runner future, mostly because artificially intelligent robots already walk, roll and occasionally backflip among us. They're on our streets and in our stores. Some have wagged their way into our hearts while others have taken a more literal route. Both in civilian life and the military battlespace, AI is adopting physical form to multiply the capabilities of the humans it serves. As robots gain ubiquity, friction between these bolt buckets and we meat sacks is sure to cause issues. So how do we ensure that the increasingly intelligent machines we design share our ethical values while minimizing human-robot conflict? Sit down, Mr. Asimov.
Seldon Crisis rebrands as Sudden Crisis
Seldon Crisis -- the name, at least -- is no more. The science-fiction sandbox has rebranded itself as Sudden Crisis following an IP dispute that left its Kickstarter campaign neutered. "We want to let everyone know that the project and game now has a new name: Sudden Crisis," the studio posted to Facebook. "Everything stays the same, this is the last change needed to separate us from one world and open a new one, one wholly created by us and you. You will shortly see the change take effect across our sites." Sudden Crisis is currently in the middle of an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for the project.
Seldon Crisis removes Asimov references following IP dispute
The sci-fi sandbox Seldon Crisis initially tried to draw attention to itself through copious amounts of name-dropping with revered author Isaac Asimov, although it turns out that this marketing plan may have backfired. Its Kickstarter campaign has been canceled, with page saying the game is "the subject of an intellectual property dispute." The team attempted to clarify the situation with a post earlier this week: "We were/are speaking with the Asimov estate regarding a partnership, but until those talks are concluded we were asked to not mention certain elements of his novels. This is completely understandable (copyright law demands holders actively protect their copyright or they can lose it). We have taken the necessary measures to fully comply with what has been stated." In the meantime, Seldon Crisis' fundraising efforts have moved over to Indiegogo, where the team is attempting to rake in £250,000 over the next month.
The Seldon Crisis Kickstarter is officially a thing
Last month we told you about Seldon Crisis, a sci-fi sandbox MMO purportedly inspired by Asimov's Foundation series. Today Chaos Interactive launched the game's Kickstarter campaign, which runs for 30 days and seeks £250,000. The devs are "looking for a commitment from gamers who enjoy hard science fiction and expansive player-driven massively multiplayer online games to help bring this deep space odyssey to reality." You can read the full PR blurb after the break.
The Daily Grind: Which IP(s) would you not want made into an MMO?
I'm not sure what to make of this Seldon Crisis thing. It's inspired by Asimov, according to the announcement press release, but I'm having a hard time seeing how something like Foundation will translate, however loosely, to MMO gameplay. Maybe it will and maybe it won't, or maybe the Asimov connection is tenuous and a marketing ploy for what's really the same old PvP game. We'll find out, I guess. It got me to thinking about other potential MMO IPs, though. We've asked before what IPs you'd like to see made into an MMO, so today let's turn that around. Which IPs would you not want to see made into an MMO? And why not? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Carefully choreographed robot pretends to do magic, recites Asimov
Who claims science isn't magic? Well, anybody you might ask, really -- but that doesn't stop Techno-illusionist Marco Tempest from trying to meld the two. In a recent TED talk, Tempest used a top hat, a yellow ball and a robot named EDI (no, not that EDI) to discuss the role deception plays in creating automatons with lifelike attributes. "Magic creates the illusion of impossible reality," he says. "Technology can be the same." He explains that equipping robots with friendly faces, reassuring voices and sensors that help them see and predict human movement are part of this illusion, as are rules like Isaac Asimov's laws of robotics. "A robot may not harm humanity or by inaction cause humanity to come to harm," EDI echoes. Even so, Tempest's robotic illusion falls flat; EDI's stage presence is rife with personality, sure, but it's also very obviously choreographed. It is still pretty fun to watch, though; check it out at the source link below.
Japan drafts their own version of robot ethics
While it did our carbon-based souls some good to see Europe and S.Korea drafting ethical robot legislation, we couldn't help but notice that Japan -- the true robotic superpower -- was mysteriously absent from the discussion table. No more! Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has drafted what has been called a "hugely complex set of proposals" to keep the robots from turning us all into a matrix of clean-shaven electrical batteries. The 60-pages of "civil service jargon" are said to go far beyond Asimov's original three laws of robotics. Under Japan's plan, all robots would be required to report back to a central database any and all injuries they cause to the people they are meant to be helping or protecting. The draft is currently open to public comment with a final set of principles set to be unveiled as early as May. Fine, but shouldn't we have a unified set of principles governing all robots, regardless of their country of manufacture?[Via Impress]
S.Korean robots to get ethics... and a gun
In the end, when the robots rise, it won't be a cool slathering of mud spread across your thermally trackable meat sack which saves you; it'll be a manifesto. Europe's version is expected next month, now our tech overlords in South Korea are working on their version of the "Robot Ethics Charter." The document will govern the manufacturing and use of robots and include ethical standards which will be programmed into their binary souls. Good thing too what with the plan to put a domestic robot in every S.Korean home by 2020. Like the Euro charter, S.Korea's guidelines are expected to reflect the three laws of robotics proposed in 1942 by Isaac Asimov. The first, and most important law states that "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." Hmmm, so we guess they'll be dismantling the armed robotic sentries coming to guard their northern borders, eh? Of course, all of this is pointless until the one, true robotic superpower -- Japan -- comes on board. Hey Ban Ki-moon, you listening? This could be your UN legacy.
UK report predicts rights for robots; your AIBO wants a tax break
If you've got someone who loves you, holds down a steady job, helps you out, reads your mail to you, takes care of you, and even gives birth, it's only fair that they enjoy the same rights and liberties as everyone else, right? What if that individual is powered by an Intel processor? Concerns over the status of robots in our society around 2056 have emerged from "one of 270 forward-looking papers sponsored by Sir David King," the UK government's chief scientist. Essentially, folks in favor of robotic rights suggest that if conscience bots are made to interact with humans, they should share a certain level of rights. Currently, the machines we know and love (and fear) are classed as "inanimate objects without rights or duties," but if rights were passed, somehow these creations would be forced to obey traffic lights and potentially pay taxes. Of course, a large concern is ethics towards these creatures, but some say that if robots in society are "correctly managed," it could lead to increased labor output and "greater prosperity." Although this stuff may seem pretty far-fetched right now, the logic behind it could actually grow legs in the (somewhat) distant future, but until there's a robotic candidate on the presidential ballot, we'll just keep on keepin' on.[Thanks, Fred R. and Laura O.]
