No they fucking aren't. That shit would be so much more expensive than a person. Liars, and not even particularly good ones.
I mean apparently they're partnering with a private robotics company. The picture is an actual model of the company's robot. Whether or not they actually end up implementing this, they're allegedly currently training the robots.
Presumably, if nothing else, Amazon/Bezos is probably getting some sweet federal kick backs to attempt this and further the current administration's agenda to beat "Gyna" in the science and tech race. Except unlike Gyna, the U.S. is firing all of their scientists (which, until Jan. 2025, was one area that the U.S. had unquestionably dominated China) bc they think AI can replace them too.
So now, they're just handing all the resources to the kind of technocratic "elites" who are used to just purchasing their good ideas, rather than actually creating anything. This is also why they seem to genuinely believe something like Amazon humanoids is a sound investment, "durr, we don't need people bcuz we haz robots."
Fun fact, just learned they are indeed going to try to replace scientists with robots too. There was a meeting about it yesterday:
For all we know they made the futuristic robot exoskeleton, took some fancy pictures of it holding a package, and that's all she wrote. The end result is just some rich assholes are slightly richer at the expense of the tax payer, and we should be grateful. 'Merica! 🇺🇲
Amazon/Bezos is probably getting some sweet federal kick backs
I think it's more a threat against employees. The robots can be used as scabs.
which, until Jan. 2025, was one area that the U.S. had unquestionably dominated China
China had more scientists and papers well before this year. And China dominates particularly in fields like maths, computer science and manufacturing.
they are indeed going to try to replace scientists with robots
I can actually think of a lot of uses for robots in research. And, of course, there are a lot of robots in labs already; they just don't look like humans.
More scientists and data, but research quality in China has been very poor for quite some time, hence a lot of questions and concerns regarding methods, data collection, and number of retracted articles.
The entire idea of the "China virus" and the Trump/Republicans lab leak/attack on NIH funding to EcoHealth, and their collaboration with Wuhan Institute of Virology, hinged on pointing out the lack of lab safety standards in China that wouldn't have allowed the research to occur here.
On the flip side, now that Trump is in power, OSTP is focused on removing regulations to science and tech bc they argue they are slowing us down in the AI race against China.
Kinda seems like a load of BS especially considering AI data in China is very poor likely bc of the lack of regulations
I think it would be more correct to say that quality control in Chinese science is very poor. I have seen top quality research, and I have also seen crap that should not have been published at all. But the sheer quantity of output means that the next big discovery in <insert field> will be from China.
OSTP is focused on removing regulations to science and tech bc they argue they are slowing us down in the AI race against China.
I don't work on AI, but in my field I have seen the insane speed and scale of Chinese research. Now I'm from a developing country; the US can probably give better funding than we can, but I am inclined to agree that Chinese science does benefit from easier and better funding and a faster administrative process.
AI data in China is very poor likely bc of the lack of regulations
The big problem for AI research in China seems to be a shortage of high-end GPUs due to the trade wars. China is very strong in maths and comp sci, and they are finding workarounds, but it is still a pretty hard barrier.
Yup, and people seem to frequently underestimate how ridiculously expensive running a fleet of humanoid robots would be (and don’t seem to realize how comparatively low the manual labor it’d replace is paid.)
Just like when they were going to replace all their delivery drivers with drones. It's just bullshit.
Let's count the problems:
Any others?
Rain? I know its not going to fall over and shoot out sparks like a cartoon but rain does mess with visibility and grip, plus this is a robot with a lot of joints and moving parts that's probably going to be maintained by someone who has to pee in a bottle so the cartoon falling over and shooting sparks isn't actually out of the question.
Yo why tf can't they just fucking pay people a reasonable wage AND give them sane working conditions? This is insane. Capitalism does not favor anyone except the rich. It's time to tear down this wall of mediocrity and face the facts. No sense of government intervention will fix this. It must all be rewritten entirely.
Because it's not real. It's purely for marketing, not for actual wide-spread implementation.
Even in the best of cases, even factoring in economy of scale and all that, a robot like that will cost upwards of €50k at least, probably closer to double that, will require constant maintainance, and the risk of vandalism or accidental damage is really high. And you'll likely need a (skilled) human operator nearby anyway, because the delivery vehicle doesn't drive itself.
The purpose of projects like this is marketing and public perception.
This robot is not meant to ever go mainstream. Maybe there will be a handful of routes where they will be implemented for marketing purposes, but like drone delivery and similar gimmicks, it won't beat a criminally underpaid delivery human on price, and that's the only metric that counts for a company like Amazon.
It is the distant future,
The year 2000,
The last known survivor lives is a cave somewhere in the Madagascar desert. A robot travels by foot to deliver a package. A simple letter with the following URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvFZjo5PgG0
The survivor dies. Amazon has finally won. They have all the money and everyone else is gone. All robots shut down. Besos jumps into the money pile only to learn that cartoons don't work in reality as most of his bones become powder on impact. The world is silent for a second. In the distance two flies are doing it over a pile of cow dung. The world becomes a peaceful place with no human presence whatsoever.
If I get one of those, I'm definitely killing it and stealing its copper. Amazon can pay for the repairs.
I'm clubbing the bot in the head and stealing it's batteries.
Didn't they just have two or three drone crashes within minutes of takeoff recently, not sure I really trust Amazon with this stuff.
This makes me wonder what the benefit of bipeds are for this over something like iBot's multi wheel design. I get it makes sense for rubble or debris, but for halls and stairs multi wheel seems better and more refined.
Edited for autocorrect.
Amazon announced using drones in 2014. In pop culture, drone delivery is like an assumed common practice. Yet fucking nobody gets their packages delivered by drone. It's been over a decade.
These robots are vaporware. Amazon will get a stock bump and that's the whole point.
Yeah, humans regularly deliver stuff wrong on our street. There is no way robots will manage. I get packages for both by neighbours and they get mine more often than correct deliveries and one of my neighbours is a business.
Companies like Amazon would do anything. Except paying living wages
Wanna bet its 7000 Indian workers again?
Anything to avoid one of the richest people in the world paying his employees a livable wage.
Bro that is so gonna get HitchBot'ed
a photo was tweeted, showing that the robot had been stripped "beyond repair" and decapitated in Philadelphia. The robot was located by some people following its progress on its website. The head was never found.
Also, like... if you wanna replace human workers, fine, just give us the UBI.
Otherwise, riots would be justified.
I imagine they will scale back robot design and just throw from the truck.
Amazon 1 year after launch: Unfortunately, the space needed for robots in the van means that the van has to return to base 5 times more often to reload with the actual packages and the extra weight of robots more than doubles the weight of the van being lugged around in the form of heavy robots. So that's why we are having to charge more for delivery and why it is taking longer for you to get your packages. But at least we can pay fewer salaries.
I can't wait to throw a Faraday blanket over one of these and jtag some open source firmware on it. What do you mean steal? I didn't steal anything, I just repurposed some garbage left on my front step!
The robot then encounters the entirely unpredictable American rural south
staircases half busted up surrounded by weeds and gravel roads full of holes
robots fucked with by kids who are now tying it to a tree with bungie cords for fun
one being dragged off in the background by a dude with a welding mask on
wageslave.exe has encountered an internal exception and must close
I tend to disbelieve this, mainly because a humanoid robot would be overkill. Custom-purpose robots would be much cheaper to design, build and maintain, with fewer potential failure points.
I'd be terrified if that thing showed up at my door.
Better keep a big furnace full of molten steel ready just in case.
Be funny if hackers hacked them to kill CEOs.
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