In complete defiance of hundreds of sci-fi movies and books, Elon Musk will unveil an actual freaking cyborg during Tesla’s AI Day event on Friday. The Terminator jokes started flying on social media after reports revealed Musk’s plans to debut the robot named Optimus, which he swears will be “friendly.” And if it’s not, don’t worry, you can probably run away from it or knock it over. Maybe.
Via The Washington Post:
Last year at the same event, Musk announced the robot. He said the cyborg would be uncombative, standing roughly 5-foot-8: “It’s intended to be friendly, of course.” It would be designed to help with repetitive, menial tasks — and usher in a future where physical work would be a choice.
Critically, Musk said, a person could “run away from it and most likely overpower it.”
Nothing more comforting than knowing when the killing starts, you have a running chance. Good stuff. As for why Musk is dipping into the dangerous waters of combining artificial intelligence and robotics, he basically said some other idiot probably would’ve done it, so why not be the first? Oh great.
“We’re just obviously making the pieces that are needed for a useful humanoid robot, so I guess we probably should make it,” Musk said during last year’s AI Day. “And if we don’t, someone else would. … I guess we should make it and make sure it’s safe.”
Following The Washington Post‘s report, people were understandably freaked out by the prospect of Musk building a robot and already feeling the need to say it won’t “overpower” humanity. Why would you open with that?
You can see some of the reactions to Musk’s robot below:
I’m sure there is no way this could possibly go wrong https://t.co/oqX8HSUmug
— Patrick Swayne (@pswayne7) September 30, 2022
https://twitter.com/eplerjc/status/1575910340944343040
THIS IS THE ACTUAL PLOT OF WESTWORLD. https://t.co/bLGD4HDZO4
— Lauren (@sposinator) September 30, 2022
https://t.co/dDSTBA95a5 pic.twitter.com/aHSGPnftSJ
— Chris Ryan (@ChrisRyan_NJ) September 30, 2022
This is exactly what the robot would force Elon Musk to say. https://t.co/sNopkKOTob
— Balderdash (@notDcfcBoss) September 30, 2022
Let’s go live to the testing facility: https://t.co/HvZj9lgxVZ pic.twitter.com/mvyh1OrPYR
— Andy McNulty (@AndyMcNulty90) September 30, 2022
https://twitter.com/sara_davis90/status/1575918100364414976
"Friendly" https://t.co/hgA7ivYzly pic.twitter.com/9kM2tiJdR2
— Ben Tobin (@Ben__Tobin) September 30, 2022
Friendly robot: [robot voice] “After you, my friend.”
Me: “Thank you, friendly robot.”
*steps into crosswalk first*
*gets hit by 80mph self-driving Tesla* https://t.co/n4lXY0BOO6
— Dr. Nifkin: Long live the new flesh – Valentine (@drnifkin_OB) September 30, 2022
me going to buy groceries in 10 years https://t.co/gE4oGDma86 pic.twitter.com/24wRhi7hR1
— Brice (@dBriceJ) September 30, 2022
(Via The Washington Post)