Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagRobots (as characters)

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Border patrol officers walking along a corrugated wall border

Terminator Dark Fate: We Meet the Sender of the Mystery Texts

At this point in the story, our characters clash with Border Patrol — and discover a Terminator with a conscience

Last Saturday, we saw that Sarah, Grace and Dani, realized that the person sending Sarah the mysterious texts was living precisely where Grace was supposed to go if she ran into trouble. Because the address is in Texas our dysfunctional trio must cross the border. Dani knows a guy she convinces to help them. Well, actually Grace cuts a fly in half, and that convinces him. But anyway. While traveling to the border, they hop on top of a train with a bunch of undocumented immigrants. During this ride, Sarah comes to believe that Dani is really another her. Sarah seems happy to relinquish her fatalistic mantle, but Grace is annoyed by this development. A less likeable Grace I mention Read More ›

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sad robot

The Robot Waits for the Humans’ Return — Sci-fi Saturday

“Robert” is a household robot who has little to do but prowl the house while the humans are away

“Robert ” (2019) by Jonathan Irwin (uploaded at DUST September 27, 2021, 3:25 min) A glimpse into the future of our technological friends: The ROB 9000, waits for his family. Focusing on the robot’s self-awareness, loneliness and dog-like love of his owners, the film evokes sympathy for this humble hunk of metal. Review: This is more of a musical meditation with animations than a story. The only significant character in the film is Robert, a robot the size of a robotic vacuum cleaner but with an upright shape. Because there are no human characters (except, toward the end), viewers can accept that Robert is something of a dog who misses his folks. And all the worse for him, unlike a Read More ›

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mini robot work

Love Among the Ruins, for Robots — Sci-fi Saturday

A beautifully rendered animated short of robots looking for some place to just exist in a deserted, ruined industrial landscape

“Left Behind” at DUST by Minna Ericksson and Kateriina Kontturi at Xero Shorts (May 1, 2021, 7:14 min, animated) A lone robot walks the desolate landscape in search of a new life. It finds one in a unexpected place. Review: In a ruined, dystopian industrial landscape, a large robot (presumably laid off from a shut down enterprise) searches for a new place to be. The robot finds a cute baby robot that, duckling fashion, immediately bonds and begins to follow it around. The giant robot is none too pleased and tries, at first, to shed its unwanted companion. Then the baby robot begins to dance and… no more spoilers. This animation is not a laff riot; the climax reaches for Read More ›