U. S. bans imports of foreign-made humanoid robots in move aimed at China - Liberty Unyielding
“The U. S. Federal Communications Commission is banning imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters, citing national security risks, in a move that targets China. Beijing quickly accused the U. S. of protectionism,” reports the Associated Press. The measures are likely to test relations with Beijing ahead of a planned U. S. visit by Chinese leader […]
Revenge of the machines (Image via Byte for Bite)“The U. S. Federal Communications Commission is banning imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters, citing national security risks, in a move that targets China. Beijing quickly accused the U. S. of protectionism,” reports the Associated Press. The measures are likely totest relationswith Beijing ahead of a plannedU. S. visitby Chinese leader Xi Jinping to meet with U. S. President Donald Trump in September. China dominates the global market forhumanoid robotswith an estimated market share of roughly 85%. The FCC’s ban also includes new imports of quadruped robots, often referred to as four-legged robot dogs. The agency said imports of advanced robots pose cybersecurity and other national security risks. Offshore production of such equipment also leaves U. S. supply chains vulnerable to disruptions. While Chinese robots might post cybersecurity risks, it would be unfair to ban all foreign-made humanoid robots. Some foreign-made humanoid robots are made in Korea, which is a U. S. treaty ally under a 1954 mutual defense treaty. South Korea produces and actively develops humanoid robots. They includeHUBO, the pioneering bipedal humanoid created by KAIST. IGRIS, a high-degree-of-freedom humanoid tested by LG. “Amazon has developeda warehouse robotthat can be assigned tasks using plain conversational English(and haul around carts weighing up to 400 kilograms),” which will enable normal people to easily manage it. It willlikely cost less than $40,000 to produce. The new Proteus robots will soon join theover 1 million robotsalready used by Amazon. Rented robots aredoing “the worst jobs,”helping factories keep their human employees,reports the New York Times. Japan isturning to robots to care for its elderlyas its birth rate shrinks. “Witharound a thirdof its population over the age of 65, Japan is increasingly turning to robots to care for its elderly citizens. New research suggests that this isn’t as dystopian as it sounds. Aworking paperfrom the National Bureau of Economic Research, which surveyed robot adoption in Japanese nursing homes, found that the machines are associated with improvements in both the quality and productivity of elder care,” says the Cato Institute. Robotsimprove carein the nursing homes, and also improve the productivity of the humans working in them. Robots with artificial intelligence arespreading on Japanesefarms. On some American farms, there aredrones withartificial intelligence, and robots that use artificial intelligenceto kill 100,000 weedsper hour. Scientists have developed tinyrobotsto repair damaged cells, and nanorobots todestroy cancerous tumors. German robotshunted the North Seafor tens of thousands of unexploded World War II bombs. Doctors used a surgical robot to carry outincredibly complicatedspinal surgery. LU StaffPromoting and defending liberty, as defined by the nation’s founders, requires both facts and philosophical thought, transcending all elements of our culture, from partisan politics to social issues, the workings of government, and entertainment and off-duty interests. Liberty Unyielding is committed to bringing together voices that will fuel the flame of liberty, with a dialogue that is lively and informative. CommentsFor your convenience, you may leave commments below using Disqus. If Disqus is not appearing for you, please disable AdBlock to leave a comment.