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Robot Baristas Learn Their Trade Without Paying Royalties
Watch this amazingly deft robot barista make a fancy latte, mimicking human movements precisely:
Yes, but did the original barista on whom this robot's movements are modeled get paid? Anthony Boucher thought about this eighty years ago! pic.twitter.com/k067uTPLrj
— Bill Christensen (@Technovelgy) April 2, 2025
I think artificial intelligence developers and trainers of robots should take a hint from science fiction writer Anthony Boucher. In his 1943 short story Q.U.R., Boucher describes how royalties should be paid to the experts who are the subject of machine learning:
"I got one of those new electronic cameras - you know, one thousand exposures per second... So we took pictures of Guzub making a Three Planets, and I could construct this one to do it exactly right down to the thousandth of a second. The proper proportion of vuzd, in case you're interested, works out to three-point-six-five-four-seven eight-two-three drops. It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat. It didn't seem right to use Guzub to make a robot that would compete with him and probably drive him out of business, so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties on usuform barkeeps."
(Read more about Royalties For Machine Learning Subjects)Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/17/2025)
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