Blog #10 - Atlas of Tomorrow

     I'm sure most people have seen a clip or two of a bulky, bipedal robot leaping and flipping around an obstacle course. This robot, named Atlas, was developed by Boston Dynamics in 2016 as part of the R&D efforts into humanoid robotics.

     For as long as it has been in development, Atlas has stayed far ahead of the curve when it came to impressive displays of motion. However, while its performance was impressive, there wasn't much practical application. The platform required constant tuning and maintenance. The powerful legs relied on hydraulic systems and was prone to breaking and spewing oil all over. And if you've ever seen the outtakes reel, you can see that the demonstrations needed a lot of time and coordinated programming to get right.

    In 2024, Boston Dynamics announced the retirement of this version of Atlas and unveiled its new iteration. With all electronic servo joints, Atlas could now move more efficiently, fluidly and delicately. The physical design has been refined into a more human shape, with an articulated head and neck. This new platform is going to be used for more practical applications. And while the movement demonstrated so far has included less jumping, it is beyond impressive what they have accomplished.

    In this video, Atlas is shown to be capable of the most human like movement ever seen in robotics. Fluid sprinting, crawling on all fours, falling and rolling to a recovery, break dancing and cartwheeling. The physical capabilities of the new Atlas are incredible. 

    Although I've mighty reservations regarding generative AI, when it comes to this application, I am excited to see where it goes. With amazing physical capabilities and new ways to teach robots to interact with the world around them, the future of robotics is exciting                                                                               to say the least.

Entry #9 - Spawn of the Mushrooms

  How are mushrooms farmed? This thought crosses my mind on occasion in the shower or while washing the dishes, but I’ve never ventured to find out. Well in this video, a gardening YouTube channel by the name of GrowVeg meets with two mushroom farmers for a detailed explanation.

            The method demonstrated in the video is fairly simple: mix an organic substrate, straw and old coffee grounds in this case, with mushroom spawn and place the whole thing in a “growing sack”. The sack is then placed in a dark, unheated room to incubate. The mycelium of the mushroom will spread throughout the substrate and, when ready, the sack will be moved to its final location: the fruiting room. In this last phase, the sack is sliced open and exposed to light for 12 hours a day.

What I find interesting is the adaptability of mushrooms. In the video they are shown to grow in a variety of substrates with the most outlandish being a book. Apparently, as long as it is organic it can potentially serve as a home for fungi. Many species also seem to grow quite quickly, which makes them a relatively quick source of food. 

Another example given for substrate were recently cut logs. This technique requires hardwood logs that are free of disease, and wooden dowels that have mycelium already grown onto them. Holes are drilled into the log and the dowels are placed within. The holes are then sealed with wax. After which it sounds like the maintenance is quite low. Simply keep them from drying out and out of direct sunlight. While it was stated to be a much slower process, for a home gardener, this would be a good way to produce your own mushrooms.

Finally, while fungi being in their own kingdom of life is fairly common knowledge, I didn’t know that mushrooms digest food similar to animals. They produce enzymes along their surface which breaks down the substrate they are growing into. Mushrooms can also absorb sunlight and store vitamin D, making them one of the few edible sources of it. That's pretty neat!

Entry #8 - The Future is Now, Old Man

     Growing up, my generation was inundated with a fantastical concept of AI. That went doubly so for anyone who partook of nerd culture, such as myself. The evil, human hunting Skynet; the well intentioned, but ultimately flawed, VIKI; the complicated and morally ambiguous Geth; and the sinister GLaDOS. The image of AI planted in my head was always one of complexity, intelligence and intention. Even from a more grounded and scientific approach, a true AI would be a mind capable of thought and reason.

    However, much like the iteration of the "hover board", the AI first released to the public in 2022 isn't quite meeting my expectations. Which might be for the best since the list of examples that first jumped to mind were mostly villains. That isn't to say it doesn't achieve impressive results. On the contrary, many of the abilities displayed have seemed amazing. The chatting feature is almost like talking to a person. The information summaries are detailed and well organized. The art is on demand, albeit soulless. The videos are....fever dreams. On the surface, these seem really interesting and promising. But when we scratch a little deeper, the paint might be covering some rust.

    Ask an a chatbot a question, and you'll often receive an answer. Even when the AI doesn't know the answer. According to a study published in Columbia Journalism Review, chatbots returned incorrect information at a staggering rate.

"Overall, the chatbots often failed to retrieve the correct articles. Collectively, they provided incorrect answers to more than 60 percent of queries. Across different platforms, the level of inaccuracy varied, with Perplexity answering 37 percent of the queries incorrectly, while Grok 3 had a much higher error rate, answering 94 percent of the queries incorrectly."

    While the efficacy of AI as a general information retrieval tool is certainly in question, there are a slew of other concerns as well. Companies use information, art, code, etc. created by other people to train their bots, and then profit from them. If pirating a movie is theft to America, then what would this be called? Online content has become a mess, and generated slop art has ruined apps like Pinterest. Propaganda bots infest social media. Some students are learning to lean on AI as a crutch, missing out on important opportunities to triumph over challenges. Worst of all, a lot of the promises that AI companies seem to be making involve automating people out their jobs.  

    Do I think AI was a mistake and shouldn't have been created in it's current iteration? Of course not. Is this all just a case of 'old man yells at sky'? Very likely. Just like all new technology, there are going to be great positives, and terrible negatives. There are a lot of really incredible opportunities with AI. Scientific research, medical applications, robotics, data analysis. The list goes on and on. If it deals with digital information, AI likely has an interesting application. 

    Ultimately, I believe generative AI is a really incredible breakthrough that has been somewhat soured by the rush to profit off of it. And I suppose that is something I'll just have to get over.

Entry #7 - This is that Fresh Feeling

      When the organic movement was gaining momentum, I was in my early 20s, had just given up on my game developer plans and was hopping from one dramatic relationship to the next. Needless to say, I wasn't very aware of the movement except in passing. The little I did hear were largely criticisms, both valid and fantastical, of GMOs. So, when I watched the film Fresh, it was like stepping back in time and seeing a new perspective on the topic. 

    Hearing from farmers and experts with firsthand experience was especially compelling. It wasn't just cold data and statistics, but real-world experience with alternative solutions to our agricultural needs.

    In 2009 I was so caught up in my personal drama that I wouldn't have appreciated this film at the time, but now I find the information to be moving. I've always known that food production in America is an ugly affair, but it was something I could push to the back of my mind. An uncomfortable truth I could forget about forgetting. Now, however, I am far more interested in the wellbeing of society as a whole, and I don't think I can continue to look away from the problem.

    I won't pretend to be an expert on the issues of modern-day food production. I do know that we as a country have seen the havoc that unfettered companies will wreak in the name of profit. I doubt that large corporate farm will ever prioritize a balance with the land that they work. Or concern with the wellbeing of animals they intend to slaughter anyways. As such I think it is vital that we as a society demand higher standards from these companies. 

    

Entry #6 - Chips and Software

    For the final entry in this very limited series of job research posts, we will be taking a brief look at Computer Engineers. Not to be confused with Computer Science, although they do both deal with software development, Computer Engineers are responsible for research and development of computer hardware. CPUs, motherboards, RAM, the GPU you've been saving up to get. None of it would happen without this engineering discipline.

    Like most engineering fields, the required skills and knowledge is a fairly wide field. Although not an exhaustive list, programming, software development, computer theory, electrical engineering and physics are all key pieces to this career. As such, an interesting aspect of studying Computer Engineering is the flexibility it affords you in choosing different career paths. 

    This field of study is of particular interest to me because of this flexibility, and because it is a place where the digital meets the physical. There is great pleasure in working with one's hands. Toiling on a physical project and seeing it come into its final form. At the same time, working on a computer is a clean and, mostly, comfortable process. Having a career where you can work in both worlds is quite appealing, and developing a wide range of skills feels like a safety net of sorts.

    Although, there isn't much use for that safety at the moment because Computer Engineering is expected to flourish in the future. As of now the median pay for the US is an impressive $138k a year! Estimated job growth through 2033 is a healthy 6%-8% nationwide. However, since some states have much stronger technology sectors, you can expect higher numbers in places like California (15%) and even Arizona (12%), with our growing technology sector.

    Overall, while this is a complex and difficult field of study, it is highly rewarding in both job prospects and pay. The flexibility afforded by acquiring a wide range of skills and knowledge could allow one to pivot onto a different career path. Finaly, if you like working with software and hardware, this is the best of both worlds. 

Entry #5 - The Bear of Mayhem

     

Allstate is one of the largest auto-insurance companies in the US. While they also provide other insurance policies, this ad focuses on their vehicle insurance. Like many insurance companies, they have a long running mascot of sorts. In this case it is Chaos itself, lovingly referred to as “Mayhem”. Mayhem takes many different forms, but they are all played by the same actor. This ad series has been running for 15 years, so it stands to reason that the formula is working as intended. Let’s take a look at how this one plays out.

    The opening scene for this commercial starts with Mayhem coming through the trees. He announces that he represents a wild bear, fresh from hibernation and looking for food. The “bear” proceeds towards a parked vehicle with a partially open window, sniffing the air for the food inside. He grabs the door with his bare/bear hands and rips in straight off the hinges, then dumps the food out on the backseat. After eating everything, the bear casually walks away, smashing a side mirror off in the process.

    During the entire ad, the tone is one of humor. The absurdity of the situation is meant to lighten the subject of property damage causing very real distress for many of us. As with all “Mayhem” commercials, there is a general appeal to a sense of unpreparedness for disaster. Anyone who has a vehicle risks the unknown bringing them damage and destruction. However, there is also always a more narrow lifestyle targeted as well. In this case, avid hikers or campers might discover their auto insurance does not cover something like a bear burglary. Wildlife damage to vehicles is far from unheard of but might be outside the average policies boundaries.

    Overall, the message is reasonable: make sure your insurance policies fit your unique lifestyle. Otherwise you might find yourself covering thousands of dollars in damages. Allstate wants you to know that they offer this sort of coverage with their policies.

Entry #4 - Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

    When I was young, I had a great love for science fiction. I grew up on all of the classics: Terminator, Star Wars, Back to the Future, Aliens and the list goes on. I loved them all. The idea of futuristic technology captured my imagination and helped shape my interests permanently. One element contained in many of these stories always fascinated me the most. Robots. Nothing drew my attention more than seeing these awesome machines. Whether it was Transformers or Johnny 5, I loved them all.

    And so for my second career overview, I will be taking a look at Robotics Engineering. This career field is somewhat self explanatory on the surface, but the amount of disciplines that go into creating these machines can be truly staggering. A deep understanding of physics, engineering principles and electronics are all needed to adequately research, design and develop useful robotics. Programming and software engineering is needed to control them. Finally, one must understand what purpose the robot will serve, which could require researching and understanding industries you won’t even directly work in 

    The prospects for this industry look to be about average nationwide, about 3%-5% projected growth. However, some states have better outlooks. California, for example, has a projected 11% growth. The median pay for the US is a respectable $111k a year with a range all the way up to $177k for the top earners.

    Robotics, similar to the space industry, often manages to capture the public’s attention with its promises of amazing technological advancements. Many of which don’t quite come to fruition, but that doesn’t stop the average person from dreaming of a day when they see humanoid robots in our everyday lives. A future that seems more and more possible. And I am certainly not immune to this romanticism. My cynicism often clashes directly with my hope of a future where hard labor in our society is done only by specialized machines, and without the cost of a standard of living for the average person.     I think it's safe to that this would be my dream job. But for now I will continue to keep my options open and flexible. What about you, reader?