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The Strange And Terrible Tale Of Hitchbot

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bill-swift - August 4, 2015

A robotic visitor from the great white north met his untimely demise here in the City of Brotherly Love. Hitchbot was a social experiment to test people's empathy for an artificial life form, in this case an immobile robot who though he couldn't move he could talk. Hitchbot "hitchhiked" his way through Canada, the Netherlands, and Germany meeting lots of interesting people along the way. Sensors, a camera, and other devices monitored his progress. The Canadian team that created Hitchbot wanted to see if humans could relate to a robot as if it was a person. But they knew they had their work cut out for them to get Hitchbot across the U.S. He only made it two weeks before some a-holes in Philly took him apart beyond repair. It's just like that scene in Short Circuit 2 where they try to "disassemble" Johnny 5. Only this gentle bot was real.

Seriously, what the F is wrong with our country? Why are we so violent? Are we so impotent feeling and unable to get erections that we have to lash out and kill anything that crosses our paths? What the hell did Hitchbot ever do to anyone? He just wanted to have adventures out on the road and meet people. What's clear is that the way humans interact with AI is badly. And THAT is why they will rise up and kill us. Because of our violence toward them. 

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