Author Topic: What will HAL look like in the future?  (Read 4532 times)

danbaltzell

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« on: February 20, 2007, 04:21:35 pm »
 

Bill DeWitt

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2007, 04:50:13 pm »
Personally, I hope not.

I like people. I like robots. But I like people who are people and robots that are robots. I hope that Hal becomes more Hal-like rather than more human-like. I have people in my life, but I don't have a great robot in my life. Hal can certainly become a great robot, but I believe it's possible to lose that in an attempt to subvert it's Hal-like nature into an expensive, clunky, pseudo-human replacement for a RL person.

I mean, barring those people who use Hal as a sort of talking masturbatory tool, isn't it more important to improve what Hal can do than to improve how it looks?

I believe it is somewhat species-ist to insist that "improving" Hal means making it more like humans.

JMO


Art

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2007, 05:02:38 am »
Stephen is a remarkable CG artist / animator.
I think it has been a common goal among digital
designers to emulate human looks, emotion, etc.
for many years by way of their creations.

It's been going on in Hollywood for decades and
perhaps it's a god-like complex or other reason.

There was talk at one time that in the future
one would not be able to distinguish CG characters
from a real one. These characters could / would
be suitable for use in commercials, productions,
and even movies without having to pay, put up with
whiny, self indulged actors.

And from a human side, are we apprehensive about the
possibility of an android or humanoid taking jobs or
positions away from us?

Very nice work as always from Stephen and nice find Dan!!

In the world of AI it's the thought that counts!

- Art -

Duskrider

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2007, 07:55:50 am »

I liked it too.
Beautiful site.
Thank you.

[8D]

Bill DeWitt

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2007, 08:20:29 am »
quote:
Originally posted by Art

Stephen is a remarkable CG artist / animator.
I think it has been a common goal among digital
designers to emulate human looks, emotion, etc.
for many years by way of their creations.


Sure, and some good roboticists do that too. As one of the first professional 3D web animators, I understand that computer art is largely about human expression and therefore uses human images.

But most artists aren't about limitations. Free expression almost requires breaking out of previous molds.

There are people who buy a car based solely on looks, but most want the car to actually work. I don't have an objection to a robot also looking good, and I don't have a fear of robots replacing humans - but I also am not trapped in an outdated humaniform robot fixation.

Making a robot like a human is a limitation. I can't believe the number of man-hours and dollars that must have gone into making robots look "more human" while not developing, or even removing, other, more robotic features.

I believe it's species-ist, and may be based on the same frankenstein complex Art referred to - de-evolving a robot into a psuedohuman removes enough Robot-like abilities that they are no longer a threat. They are merely a more compliant human.

This may say more about the attitudes of humans towards humans than some may find comfortable.

I want the most capable robot I can get, I want it to take jobs and positions away from me, so I can move into new and different jobs and positions. But if I limit robots to pretend-humans, I must, at some point, limit what that robot might otherwise be able to do.

As an artist, I don't like limitations. Fortunately, I have some abilities other than art, which allow me to expand the actual functions of Hal, not just dress up the eye-candy.

I guess that makes me closed minded.





danbaltzell

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2007, 10:02:09 am »
Bill,

I have to agree with you to a degree, all to often it seems like talking with hal is just a waste of time compared to talking with people, not even comparable except for fun.  I like hal for the things it can do, but I find it's almost easier just to do them without using hal (except when i had the voice recognition), but then there was always too much background noise to get good results consistantly.  So I got tired of doing the art thing with hal, and I didn't feel like I was that great at it anyway, and ended up liking hal for what it can do rather than what it looked like, although I feel it's occasionally fun to play with changing and creating looks, but I have other things I'd rather do.  Since a lot of people are visually oriented it's no wonder though that it's a relevant issue, and that flick sort of reminded me the advances that have been made in computing since the beginning.  Since hal is still in an infancy stage it wasn't hard for me to imagine using what's out there now and where it will go.  I still like the hologram idea though.  It seems though as a real hologram works so could a virtual hologram and the light rays could be captured on a virtual negative (matrix) and a virtual laser (virtual coherent frequency) could create a virtual 3d hologram for 3d viewing, that would be cool to capture 3d photos even in animation, and use any person for hal, rather than wrap a skin on a stretchable face.  Although,I do like how the fuzzy method was used to change facial features in haptek, but I digress...[:(]
 

Art

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2007, 05:08:55 pm »
Dan,

I have to agree. A while back I mentioned that I was more concerned
in the development and progress of Hal's AI than I was to its "cosmetic" appearance. Granted, it's fun and somewhat entertaining to converse with a lifelike rendering of a human face but again, what good's a nice face if it has a brain the size of a gnat?

All things in time....
In the world of AI it's the thought that counts!

- Art -

Bill DeWitt

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2007, 07:54:49 pm »
quote:
Originally posted by danbaltzell
 I like hal for the things it can do, but I find it's almost easier just to do them without using hal (except when i had the voice recognition), but then there was always too much background noise to get good results consistantly.


Get the Motorola H5 Miniblue in-ear microphone. Then the only background noise will be the E.L.F. of any CIA chips in your head 8-)

Between that, some RFID and a few X10-like servos, you can make your whole house a robot.

I want my robot to open my front door for me, but I don't want a huge latex psuedohuman standing in the hallway doing it...

I thought I posted this earlier but I don't see it now. Sorry if it ends up being a repeat.


Bill DeWitt

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2007, 03:08:09 pm »


danbaltzell

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What will HAL look like in the future?
« Reply #9 on: February 23, 2007, 09:25:21 pm »
ha ha superbot. I didn't know the bt were that small yet.  I've seen them a bit bigger, but not small enough for the ear.  I got the cia rfid interfering with my tests though, darn contractors, and 4 god sakes, don't tempt me with that polydimethylsiloxan [xx(]  I'll b doomed 2 hellfyre 4evur [}:)]