You know how we all have those movies we’ve seen roughly 8,000 times on basic cable despite the fact they’re not anything special? Well one of mine is 2004’s I, Robot starring Will Smith. It’s not bad, and it’s not great, it’s just a totally fine film. A totally fine film I just happen to know every word of for no good reason. At least there was no good reason until now. All those viewing could finally pay off because I’ll know how to handle a potential problem mankind might soon face. BMW is now testing all-purpose humanoid robots at a plant in South Carolina, and these creepy machines look like they came right out of a sci-fi horror film.
California-based AI robotics company Figure has announced a new commercial agreement with BMW Manufacturing. The company’s autonomous humanoid robots are heading to BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina manufacturing facility. The partnership (which we first learned about at The Verge) will see the futuristic/dystopian machines “enable the automation of difficult, unsafe, or tedious tasks throughout the manufacturing process.” In their press release the companies say these robots will allow “employees to focus on skills and processes that cannot be automated, as well as continuous improvement in production efficiency and safety.”
Sure. Minus all the human jobs these robots could potentially replace, this sounds great for workers. Yeah….
The arrangement includes a multi-stage rollout. Phase one will see Figure identifying “initial use cases to apply” its robots in the automotive production process. Only then will the machines be used at the BMC facility. The two companies also have plans to “jointly explore advanced technology topics such as artificial intelligence, robot control, manufacturing virtualization, and robot integration.”
And I have plans to watch I, Robot again. Not because I actually fear a robot uprising. AI is not actually a threat to us at this point and almost certainly not anytime soon. No, I will watch it again just in case. I’d hate for humanity to end because I needed to see it for the 8,001 time.
