AP auto writer Dee-Ann Durbin got a chance to get dolled-up on someone else's dime and hit the Allesee Hall for a little Motown culture– providing you consider watching a Honda robot conducting a symphony orchestra as something other than a PR-inspired freak show. Did I say conducting? Seeing isn't believing; Asimo was simply playing back in 3-D the work of The Detroit Symphony's musical education director, Charles Burke. Still, as a way to rub Detroit's nose in its failure to stem the transplant tide, you can't beat sending Honda's inhuman creation to Detroit to perform "The Impossible Dream" for the crumbling city's social elites. You can almost hear the Joker's maniacal laughter in the background as his plots to take over Gotham once and for all are finally hatched. "It is absolutely thrilling to perform with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.This is a magnificent concert hall," Asimo told the assembled throngs. BLAM! Independent observers report that Asimo seemed to be measuring-up the place for new curtains and deciding which Kabuki masterpiece he will commission after mom and dad buy the place.
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Hilarious! And kind of sad…
Interestingly enough, my 25 year old son is “terrified” of the prospect of robots. People my are, are not, apparently.
He was speechless when I told him I’d bought his mom two robots for the house (scooba and roomba) and (I think he was serious) said “those things are going to take over and kill us all.”
I think the younger generation watched too much TV/movies/DVDs.
Honda should concentrate on their slipping quality and dealer body instead…
Well, of course it’s a stunt. And it gave the Detroit Symphony a chance to give Honda some payback after the company donated $1M to help with music education/outreach programs in the Detroit area. That’s an OK transaction to me, when all around the US we’ll not blink at raising millions in tax offsets to subsidize sports stadiums but let arts go begging.
Critic Mark Stryker’s corresponding article in the FreeP notes that Toyota is making robots that will play trumpet and violin. Perhaps it’s the next step up from assembling cars and engines….
Forget the symphony. When will the Japanese invent a robot that can run a Detroit-based car company? One word of advice. Hurry!
perform “The Impossible Dream” for the crumbling city’s social elites.
Detroit has social elites?? Is that, like, the most successful drug dealers and prostitutes?
I think the younger generation watched too much TV/movies/DVDs.
Ever read “I, Robot” ? I’m 27, and it was written way before “our” time.
As a resident of Detroit, I can honestly say that I dont think anybody really cared. It was on the local news this morning for about 10 seconds with no commentary to speak of. Although symbolcally, it is like rubbing salt in Detroit’s wounds. Realistically, the proliferation of foreign automobiles, even in Motown accomplished that a while back.
Curious though, I always thought the Joker plotted to take over Gotham?
Mullholland :
“When will the Japanese invent a robot that can run a Detroit-based car company? One word of advice. Hurry!”
It doesn’t sound that hard really. It would have to accomplish the following tasks:
1. Collect fat checks
2. Maintain hostile relations with suppliers
3. Spout random bluster (which never needs to prove true)
It could be like the retard brother of Skynet…
Kevin Wrote:
Detroit has social elites?? Is that, like, the most successful drug dealers and prostitutes?
Nice Kevin, did you know Oakland County Michigan ranks among the highest per capita income in the Country, at one point I believe it was at or near the top. Ever been to Grosse Pointe, Bloomfield Hills? Didnt think so. Where do you live? I am guessing it woundnt compare to the aforementioned Detroit Suburbs.
Did anybody see the South Park episode where Cartman dressed up in a cardboard box robot costume to fool Butters? It was adorned with drawn-on meters, switches, and such, and the robot’s name:
“Awesome-O”
It was a hoot.
As to Asimo, he’s(?) cool.
In a creepy sort of way.
I think Detroit has seen too much to give a damn about a Japanese robot playing “semi-conductor”
I probably read Asimov when you were still a gleam in your dad’s eye, Samir.
Didn’t mean I took away from it, that robots would be the ruination of mankind, though! It was – um – fiction!
I’d LOVE to live long enough to have a household robot. Not just a robotized box vacuum or mopper or lawnmower or guttercleaner or poolcleaner.
Maybe I watched too much Jetsons and Lost in Space when I was a kid, eh?
gamper:
Curious though, I always thought the Joker plotted to take over Gotham?
Oops! Text corrected.
Was the Toyota robot playing violin or trumpet?
http://www.techeblog.com/elephant/photo.phtml?post_key=148173&photo_key=11092#prevnext
# Samir :
# May 14th, 2008 at 10:04 am
# I think the younger generation watched too much
# TV/movies/DVDs.
#Ever read “I, Robot” ? I’m 27, and it was written #way before “our” time.
I’m 39, and “I, Robot” was written way before ‘my’ time too. (Off-topic: cool books.)
I suppose that I ‘trust’ robots as long as I can think of them as appliances: reliable, not obscenely complex, and incapable of doing anything truly dangerous except maybe catching fire. Like my Roombs, which my kids affectionately call ‘The Little Droid.’
But I can’t trust computers when I have to think of robots as Windows-based computers (MTBF measured in hours) or when they start being capable of causing serious physical damage.
Would YOU trust a self-driving car made by the Big 2.8, and ‘Powered By Microsoft?’ I’d run screaming.
@Bancho : if it could have sex by text, there’s a higher office for it that just might be available.
Kevin:
That was my thought exactly, too. Some of the suburbs are very nice, but Detroit (Rock City) is a hellhole of the first order.
If Honda donated to the arts then this is a nice thing to do. And if no one in Detroit noticed, it’s because no one ever notices that symphonies happen…
I hope Asimo turns out to be a nice guy when be becomes intelligent enough to enslave us all.
When will the Japanese invent a robot that can run a Detroit-based car company?
They just need to equip it with network link to Northern Trust to wire-transfer multi-million dollar paychecks and a random management-bullsh*t-speak generator, then program it to be an arrogant, bullying a*hole to suppliers and employees.
Perhaps they should hire Donald Trump, Gordon Ramsay and most of the Bush Administration as consultants.