Remember when robots was just a thing of science fiction and comic books? With drones and other robots making the news, robots are a reality now, and Google seems to be leading the charge.
They own robotic companies. They’ve recently purchased Boston Dynamics. Their headquarters are in Waltham, MA, a suburban town ten miles northwest of downtown Boston. They even make research robots for The Pentagon. These aren’t your robots of the 1980s. These robots can run like humans. These robots can fly like helicopters. They can defend themselves against an attack. I’m only scratching the surface. Boston Dynamics is the eighth robotic company Google has purchased.
Now I ask myself why Google is so interested, borderline obsessed with purchasing these companies that make such futuristic machines. Have you seen the You Tube video of Big Dog? It’s fascinating and creepy all at the same time. One could argue they’re planning this is a profit move. Google could sale robots to sale to the public, much like they’re doing with Google Glass. But I think something deeper is going on here. I think a deal is being made between Google and the U.S. government to build and put robots out there, perhaps even to police us. I’ve heard of small towns laying off police officers so they can make way for machines. Even 20+ years ago, teachers would tell us robots would be cooking our foods at fast food joints. Were they right? Is this the beginning of a whole new age? Or am I just being paranoid?