It all started when Frankenstein's misunderstood monster turned deadly. Then we had HAL, the apparently innocent computer from 1968's "2001: Space Odyssey" who methodically executed his crew. And a few years later, we had the Terminator, the cyborg with an unquenchable mission to kill.
Now we have the self-evolving robots of Brandeis University researchers Hod Lipson and Jordan Pollack. Could they be the next manmade creation just waiting to go wrong?
Perhaps, with this new innovation, we have taken one step closer to robot domination. That one step is not only premature, it is also unnecessary.
Four years ago the endeavor started out ever so innocently. Lipson and Pollack set out on a mission not only to craft machines that could reproduce themselves with little human help, but also to have these robots improve with each generation, following a survival-of-the-fittest evolution.
The robots still require help, but Lipson and Pollack are aiming so that someday no human intervention will be needed whatsoever. This is part of their goal to cut out the human in the design and construction of robots, an already ominous-sounding mission. By asking the robot to do it himself, it would drastically cut the cost of creating robots. It also lends itself to replacing humans altogether. Once robots can produce themselves, why not have robots to fix computers, robots to cook lunch or robots to clean your dorm room? With this potential, this nightmarish thought doesn't seem so far from reality.
Their project, known as GOLEM (Genetically Organized Lifelike Electro-Mechanics) actually had its start with LEGO blocks. The researchers wrote a computer program that would create robot body plans from scratch, following the path of natural evolution. Then it would evaluate the plans and decide which was most mobile in the world, killing off any species of robot that was not as mobile or as strong, and replicating only those that were. At first they used LEGO blocks, but as the robots became more mobile, they moved to more flexible plastic sticks.
While the idea of creating these things from a computer program is new, the program itself - a natural selection program - is actually nothing new to the computer or genetic programming world.
"It's actually very old technology. The machines they're talking about have been around for years," Assoc. Computer Science Prof. Worthy Martin, technical director of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities said.
But the Brandeis researchers added a twist to it. With the help of a plastic replicating machine that takes computer designs and turns them into physical objects, Lipson and Pollack were able to take evolving robots from the confines of a computer and bring them to our three-dimensional world. And before they knew it, small creatures started crawling across their lab table.
Though this fascination seems as innocent as that of a child when he first sees a remote-controlled car, Philosophy Chair Paul Humphreys believes the GOLEM project is a giant leap forward for the robotics world and genetic programmers.
"The big thing that they did was transform this thing into a 3-D object," Humphreys said. "But it's not just the project you look at. It's the ability that you can move a machine that you created from the inside of the computer to the outside that's the big deal."
The creatures are interesting to look at now, but the potential to lose control of it is great. These creatures - a collection of molded plastic sticks stuck together and powered by electric motors - appear no more dangerous than a rudimentary Daddy Longlegs, which is what they look like. Somehow this scenario - of little robots with minds we cannot comprehend - has the makings of a science thriller yet to be realized.
We seem to be safe for now, but Humphreys warns that we might just be watching the beginning of this thriller.
"They're like plastic cockroaches. Right now they seem like something harmless, something you can play with. But later on, when you let them run around, it might be a little harder to contain," Humphreys said.
One possibility, which may become reality within a matter of years, is the likelihood of this idea falling into the grips of countries who want to conduct biological warfare. With the ability to transfer organisms once restrained to the computer screen, people with intentions for widespread health disaster could so easily download a computer virus, replicate it and let it run amok.
"There's a lot of knowledge that could be transferred to biological warfare. It's much easier to make a virus than a nuclear weapon," Humphreys said.
The sheer fact that we don't know what the machine is thinking should also be cause for alarm. Systems Engineering Chairman Michael Gorman, a technology, culture and communications professor, said, "It's very hard to get the genie back in the bottle. If you create something like this, you have to be responsible for this creation."
But often the quest for innovation is so inviting that researchers will not wait to consider the consequences, even as perilous as they may be.
"That's what Dr. Frankenstein thought. He didn't stop to consider the consequences," Gorman said. "He thought, 'It was just so sweet, we had to do it.' Even if the intentions are good you can create results you're not happy about."
And with such potential for biological warfare and machines with independent minds, it's a wonder why these researchers continue to go forward with this project. Granted, the robot minds are the equivalent to a bacterium, but their quick evolution may see insect minds within a few years, and possibly bird-like minds within decades. Human mind capacity is still a long way off, but this project is making it that much closer to mimicking the human mind. And to think we are even considering pursuing this is quite frightening, to say the least.
"It gets out in the world, and it can escape from us. That's what's scary," Humphreys said.
But since Lipson and Pollack have already made these robots public, there's nothing we can do now. If the project title "GOLEM" is any indication, we might be preparing for a menace. The golem of Jewish folklore refers to a clumsy creature made of clay to act as a servant to a group of Jewish people. Its major fault? The clay creature developed dangerous magical powers that could wreak destruction and havoc.
"It seems like [Lipson and Pollack] are aware that they may be creating a monster. It hints at unintended consequences," Gorman said. "Maybe it's not a monster, but it could turn out to be difficult."
So for all we know, the Brandeis robots could just be a real life "golem" in the making.
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