this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2024
175 points (82.5% liked)

Technology

59091 readers
5070 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

The director of 2004 sci-fi film I, Robot has accused billionaire Elon Musk of copying his designs for humanoid machines and self-driving vehicles.

top 36 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 104 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Much as I hate this guy, guessing he didn't design it and it wouldn't be hard for a humanoid robot to end up looking pretty similar to an I-robot.

Be nice to keep attention to this ass out of the news unless it's raising awareness to the real harm he is doing.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I compared the Cybercab to the I robot car.

They don't share the same design. All lines are different. Maybe the side windows are similar.

[–] [email protected] 72 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I don't see the connection. The Elonbot is about as generic a humanoid robot design can be and the I, Robot one looks cool, has a face, and isn't controlled by a human as part of some sort of investment con.

The self driving cars has no connection either. The Elonmobile looks like a smooth car and has a degree of autonomous driving and the I, Robot cars look cool, can drive up vertical surfaces, and hardly ever kills their occupants.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It's because he called the event 'We, Robot'. So it's fairly obvious that he wants to draw parallels between Tesla's humanoids and the robots within the movie.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

That's a problem though because the movie isn't in a piece of original work. It's based on the book by the same title by Isaac Asimov. I assume it's out of copy right now not really sure.

Anyway the point is neither the movie nor anything Elon Musk may or may not have done is the original work and since the original work has been replicated many times it's fairly obvious no one owns the copyright. Much like how no one owns the copyright to the tripods in war of the worlds anymore which is why there's been so many adaptations over the years.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, they look nothing alike side by side.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

They look like humans, I don’t Think Irobot invented humans.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I did actually, and I'm suing them.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago

checkmate atheists

[–] [email protected] 34 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Humanoid robots look like other humanoid robots? This is a nothing burger.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Sure but did u click thru? The car designs are much more questionable

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

They're really not. Dude didn't invent wing doors.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Sure. But like take all of it together. Event was called “We, Robot”. Possibly influenced by the movie “I, Robot”? Maybe. Next the humanoid robot with white features. Ok fine. Humanoid shapes are humanoid! Not so controversial. Then the car. Gull wing doors! Inb4 delorean and lamborghini. Ok fine. But the capped wheels!? Ok fine its a car they look like cars. Finally the bus looking thing?? Thats weird, looks a lot like the I, Robot bus thing. Take all this together? HMMMMMMM

[–] [email protected] 29 points 3 weeks ago

gulag for everybody who thinks this is news. The guy is literally a fascist and we are supposed to be angry about how his humanoid robots look kinda human? who tf cares

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago

Looks more like the mitchells vs the machines to me.

Robot pic

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago

Lmao...now if Honda or whichever Japanese manufacturer is still regularly pushing these out came out and sued, I'd be more inclined to think they have some weight behind the accusation because I'm sure I've seen something similar before. Then again as others pointed out, they all look similar, even more so once you try to hide the wiring, hydraulics etc

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Can we get a break from Elon posts in here or is that too much to ask? Guess I’ll just have to turn back on my filter. it’s ridiculous

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

elon doesn't have an original thought

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Using a 2 seater with limited storage space to taxi people around is pretty original. Not good, but original.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Even BMW has come out with a more original car design for an automated vehicle that has the seats facing each other and a table in the middle for a more communal experience. It also had a screen instead of a front window, because obviously if the car's driving itself you don't need to be able to see outside.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

There are so many reasons to dunk on Elon, but this isn't one of them. Generic looking humanoid robots isn't "ripping off" I, Robot. It's literally the most common depiction of futuristic robots around.

You wanna dunk on Musk? Talk about how his robots were remote controlled with humans talking through them. Talk about how most of his family has disowned him and refuses to have anything to do with him. Talk about how he has Trump's dick firmly in his mouth because he might be in hot water over supplying equipment to Russia and might face prosecution if Trump isn't elected.

But this just screams of low-hanging Musk-bait, where journalists will write anything negative about him knowing that those who have hate-boners for the guy will eat up whatever crap they shit out, even if it doesn't make sense. It's like going "Elon Musk ate cereal for breakfast! What a fucking loser!"

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

If you're building a robot then the humanoid shape is a fairly good shape to use because the world is already designed for things of that shape. Doors, corridors, and staircases all assume a bipedal body of about 6 ft high. So inevitably robots are going to look humanoid.

If the robot is designed to work underwater then it probably isn't going to look humanoid it'll probably look like a fish but I don't think the fish can sue.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

At least he steals his ideas from good sci-fi.

Wonder who he pays to summarize them for him.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

from a shitty movie extremely loosely based on good sci-fi

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Probably grok, another reference to classic scifi he doesn't understand

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

He’s a stranger in a strange land

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago

Do the eyes glow red if it becomes self aware?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

That's what futuristic cars always look like. I don't think you can sue for unoriginality.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

more of a miracle he didn’t copy Johnny Cab …

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Reminds me of “Detroit: Become Human”.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

They were humans via remote body anyway. Who cares. Next time they have one of these bullshit demos, ask it a complicated math question like 129473626 * 6363. See how fast they answer then.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Amazon mechanical Turk service.

In the future your robot waiter will be a Asian working for 6 cents an hour.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Not fast enough. These were live humans responding for sure.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

To be fair, if they're driven by an LLM I would still expect it to be wrong.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

God is suing both