Why is Facebook doing robotics research? Hint: It's not about the robots
It's a bit strange to hear that the world's leading social network is pursuing research in robotics rather than, say, making search useful, but Facebook is a big organization with many competing priorities. And while these robots aren't directly going to affect your Facebook experience, what the company learns from them could be impactful in surprising ways.
Though robotics is a new area of research for Facebook, its reliance on and bleeding-edge work in AI are well known. Mechanisms that could be called AI (the definition is quite hazy) govern all sorts of things, from camera effects to automated moderation of restricted content.
[...] As Facebook continually works on expanding its influence from its walled garden of apps and services into the rich but unstructured world of your living room, kitchen and office, its AI agents require more and more sophistication. Sure, you won't see a "Facebook robot" any time soon... unless you count the one they already sell, or the one in your pocket right now.
Also at Futurism.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @05:55PM (4 children)
"into the rich but unstructured world of your living room"
just.. say.. FSCK NO! to zuckerfsck!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @06:11PM (3 children)
"AI" == More Facebook "Users" so Facebook can keep claiming it's growing its user base, and advertisers can be charged more.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday May 24 2019, @07:01PM (2 children)
Facebook wants you to have an argument with your car's AI about which oil is showing how much you care.
Because it's facebook, it will devolve into arguments about how fat you got, whether Hillary would have added more traffic lights, and insurances' abuse of the death panels.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @01:34PM (1 child)
Um ... my "car" is an Uber driver. I'm not getting into an argument with somebody else's car (unless there's an discount for it).
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Saturday May 25 2019, @02:56PM
A: I came here for an argument!!
B: OH! Oh! I'm sorry! This is abuse!
A: Oh! Oh I see!
B: No, you want ridesharing, next door.
A: Oh... Sorry...
B: Not at all!
A: (quietly) Stupid git.
--
I cannot brain today.
I has the dumb.
(Score: 3, Touché) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday May 24 2019, @06:22PM
They make up most of Facebook's users, after all....
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday May 24 2019, @06:32PM (6 children)
That term "restricted content" is meaningless. Facefook ain't the police of me.
(Score: 3, Informative) by ikanreed on Friday May 24 2019, @06:42PM (5 children)
They are the police of you and the sooner you accept that, the sooner we can kill corporate monoculture.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 25 2019, @03:44AM (4 children)
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Saturday May 25 2019, @06:42AM (3 children)
There is a necessary threshold. Can't say I have high hopes for getting an agreement out of any given person. Also you know, argue for the audience, not the intractable opponent.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 25 2019, @08:55PM (2 children)
Which apparently requires Runaway to achieve? Recall my advice.
Facebook will either get the message as more and more people leave, or get to the point that other companies are eating its lunch.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Saturday May 25 2019, @11:15PM (1 child)
Call me a communist, but I think united regular people is a more powerful force, with more ability to achieve good, than stochastic market forces.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday May 26 2019, @02:20AM
Well, weren't you just proposing to achieve good via non-stochastic market forces? Or are we merely advocating the passing of laws to don't be evil?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @08:45PM (1 child)
It's time to put FaceSpook out to pasture.
When the stock market drives a company to begin diverging too far from its core competency it gains entropy (gets cancer), then needs to die. Otherwise it becomes a shambling zombie, not much good except to await a headshot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:39PM
Not at all, The only thing that can compete with a tech titan is another tech titan, they all encroach on each other’s turf feeling for openings