Ghost In The Machine

Discovered in my church history reading today in Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity - The First Three Thousand Years, the origin of the phrase "Ghost in the Machine." In Chapter 21, Enlightenment: Ally or Enemy? (1492-1700), MacCulloch attributes the phrase to the Oxford philosopher, Gilbert Ryle, and the book The Concept of Mind. Ryle uses "ghost in the machine" meaning, "a spirit lurking in a contraption of material components, which together somehow interact to spring from consciousness to motivation to action."

I first heard the phrase from the movie I, Robot. Isaac Asimov wrote about this idea in his short story I Robot. Here is the quote, “Ever since the first computers, there have always been ghosts in the machine. Random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, and even the nature of what we might call the soul. Why is it that when some robots are left in darkness, they will seek out the light? Why is it that when robots are stored in an empty space, they will group together, rather than stand alone? How do we explain this behavior? Random segments of code? Or is it something more? When does a perceptual schematic become consciousness? When does a difference engine become the search for truth? When does a personality simulation become the bitter mote… of a soul?”

Here is the scene from the movie... Interesting idea!

Astrobee from NASA

Astrobee is a free-flying robot system for the International Space Station. Designed and built at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, the system will be used to help scientists and engineers develop and test technologies for use in zero gravity. These robots are designed to assist astronauts in Earth’s orbit and support sustained human exploration to the moon, Mars, or other deep-space destinations.



Next up? Light Saber training with the blast-shield down on your helmet. "Stretch out with your feelings!"

Happy Easter 2019 from R.U.S.

Happy Easter from Robotics Under the Stole! Found this great video from my friends at Parallax -The Egg-Stravagant Egg-Straordinary Egg-Celerator!



And then there is this "slightly" more complicated version from my friend Nikos... EggBotOpenbuilds





And a couple of "over-the-top" examples...

Inflatable Robots - Real LIfe Baymax

With funding from NASA, researchers are exploring how to control inflatable robots for future space missions. Read the whole story by Evan Ackerman here at IEEE Spectrum. Amazing!



See also, Video Friday: Soft Robots, and More at IEEE Spectrum.

Note: RUS's sidebar has an RSS feed for easy access to IEEE Spectrum robotic's news.

National Robotics Week 2019 - Not So Much

What happens when National Robotics Week, April 6-14 2019

occurs during Lent and the week before Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter, April 14-21, 2019 for your average Episcopal Priest and amateur roboticist?

Lots of priesting and no roboting! That's what...

Hope you all got lots more done this week than me!