1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
— Isaac Asimov, I, Robot
I, Robot, first published in 1950, is a collection of short science fiction stories by author Isaac Asimov. It is perhaps most famous for the three essential laws embedded deep in every robot’s positronic brain.
At first glance, these ethical precepts seem simple enough; they are really not much different from the Golden Rule. But a team of robot psychologists, engaged in what we would today call quality control, soon discover certain glitches that become quite sinister.
Asimov, like philosophers before him, naturally assumed that there could be no true morality without emotion. This battle between the qualitative and the quantitative, between human consciousness and abstract calculation, isn’t easily resolved, but one thing does seem certain: nobody likes an angry robot.
This year’s art theme will focus on the many forms of artificial intelligence that permeate our lives; from the humble algorithm and its subroutines that sift us, sort us and surveil us, to automated forms of labor that supplant us. Are we entering a Golden Age that frees us all from mindless labor? Everything, it seems, depends on HMI, the Human-Machine Interface. In a world increasingly controlled by smart machines, who will be master and who will be the slave?
“People degrade themselves in order to make machines seem smart all the time. Before the crash, bankers believed in supposedly intelligent algorithms that could calculate credit risks before making bad loans. We ask teachers to teach to standardized tests so a student will look good to an algorithm. We have repeatedly demonstrated our species’ bottomless ability to lower our standards to make information technology look good.”
― Jaron Lanier, You Are Not a Gadget
It is no wonder that AI is starting to look all-powerful and inevitable. So-called creative content is increasingly hackwork; indistinguishable from the output of algorithms programmed to imitate prose, poetry, and pop songs. It’s not so much that robots are getting closer to human as that we are lowering our standards of comparison. Such compromises make us dumber and lazier — putting our trust in algorithms without questioning their assumptions.
And yet, if we turn the telescope around and regard the capacity of robots to process information and draw conclusions from almost unlimited databases, it becomes possible to imagine a solipsistic world in which most of our friends or even all of our friends will be robots: we would be surrounded by a slave labor force. Having out-sourced our minds, we might choose to out-source our selves. Who doesn’t want a friend who mirrors one’s own opinion of one’s self? Already it appears we may be moving in this direction. Consumerism makes us crave convenience and seek instant gratification, pointing toward an automated future shorn of human contact.
“More human than human is our motto.”
― Dr. Tyrell, Blade Runner
The allure of immortality and god-like powers is as old as god. The Greeks, who more or less invented humanism, had a word for this ― they called it hubris, making it the basis of all tragedy. This enduring fantasy is lately clothed in cyber-togs. It is said that computational power is increasing exponentially, much like the singularity that created the universe, and charts and numbers are employed to predict the point in time at which this supra-intelligence will take over.
This is a millenarian idea, sometimes called the Rapture of the Techies, and like all such schemes, it is essentially a religious concept now dressed in the trappings of science. In this scenario, the future rule of one vast integrated Robot will exceed all human comprehension. This notion also contains an ingenious escape clause, a sort of intellectual insurance policy. When pressed to pinpoint exactly when this event will occur, its acolytes reply that it may have already happened — its advent will elude the grasp of slimy brains. This is a contest between wet intelligence, something that we barely understand that has evolved on earth over a span of billions of years, and dry intelligence, which in its digital form was invented in 1936.
“Smart machines may make higher GDP possible, but they will also reduce the demand for people — including smart people. So we could be looking at a society that grows ever richer, but in which all the gains in wealth accrue to whoever owns the robots.”
― Paul Krugman
Burning Man has been pioneering the post-work world for decades. What would you do if you could do what you wanted? And not what you had to do to make a living? Reawakening those desires is a transformative experience; relearning how to dream, how to play, how to have desires that arise innately from your being, rather than selected off a shelf of preprogrammed experiences — and perhaps most importantly, to do all this in a community that brings you into living contact with your fellow human beings.
Wizard of Oz: “As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don’t know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.”
Tin Woodsman: “But I still want one.”
This year we invite participants to use their native genius to create expressive robots of all kinds. We also welcome art that examines how it feels to live in a world that is filled with robots that watch us, track us, hack us, read our tweets and emails, listen to our phone calls, and sell this information to other robots. This is a science fiction theme. As always, any work of art by anyone, regardless of our theme, is welcome at the Burning Man event. If you are planning to do fire art on the open playa, please see our Playa Art Guidelines for more information. To apply for a grant to fund the creation of artwork for Burning Man 2018, see our Black Rock City Honoraria page.
Top photo: Becoming Human by Christian Ristow, Black Rock City 2015 (Photo by Keith Aeschliman)
Naming the theme after a Will Smith movie…real creative.
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Thanks for the compliment, you clearly have a refined pop culture aesthetic. You’ll be thrilled to know this is just the first in a series of Wil Smith homages – next year will be FRESH PRINCE OF BRC.
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Sorry, I got up on the wrong side of the bed and knew I had heard that theme name somewhere and was sad to find that it was true. Robots are cool, and so is BRC. bring on the Metal Man!
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✨
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2020 theme: Jiggy
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I love your response “Fresh of Prince of BRC”
Well done Sir!
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Wait, but I’d totally go to that! ;)
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Men in Black Rock City?
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Seriously, dude. ‘I, Robot’ is a series of books by Isaac Asimov- you know (or dont know) the famous writer.
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Named after a recent movie? Try again. You might as well say it was named after the book by Isaac Asimov that was first published in 1950. Or the short story published in 1939 by Earl and Otto Binder.
OMG, Burning Man uses a theme title that’s been in the popular culture for 75 years. Shocking!
Who’s this “Will Smith” anyway? Does he go to Burning Man?
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Sadly Asimov took much of his story from Karel Capek’s RUR (Rossum’s Universal Robots)… Even the recent release of Blade Runner bases a huge part of the story (robots that can procreate) from the book.
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Will smith def goes to burning man, one time in 2014 our neighbors got all rowdy cuz they didn’t like our crazy rap music, will smith comes out of nowhere and straight knocked dude out then fled the scene…we never saw him again…the cops were incredulous…they didn’t believe us…
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Will Smith might as well have gone last year.After all Paris Hilton did.
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Amigo, I think only really old people like me (or maybe you) know that. I grew up reading Asimov, as well Bradbury, Clarke, Theodore Sturgeon and Cordwainer Smith. Now I read Neal Stephenson (who I highly recommend, BTW).
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Please, visit a library.
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I really like that post and I think with our current cultural state it is so appropriate..hopefully the black rock public library will be there so we can hand out copies of I robot and necromancer and snow crash.. 10101001!!
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Bonus points for reading ‘Mockingbird’ by Walter Tevis. Seriously, check it out.
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That’s kinda like them announcing that the theme is “A Midsummer Nights Dream” and complaining that you don’t want Burning Man to start being named after Rachel Leigh Cook movies.
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It’s kinda weird that you would criticize BM for not being creative about naming it after a Will Smith movie when it’s named after Asimov. ( saying uhh o- kaaaaay as sarcastic as possible)
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Your trolling skills are legendary! Teach me what you know!
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Not the Will Smith movie. ASIMOV. A whole series of stories and novels exploring the complex relationship between human and artificial intelligence.
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That’s so dumb. You do know it’s not a Will Smith movie, right? I mean, it is, but it’s from the works of sci-fi author Isaac Asimov.
Do some research before you get so grumpy, you grumpy burner you.
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Sorry Grumpy, it is actually named after; Isaac Asimov, I, Robot. A Sci-Fi classic piece of literature that is even more important today than ever. It is where the three rules that all robots should abide by comes from. Yet in the end, they do not seem to fulfill their purpose.
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
— Isaac Asimov, I, Robot
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grumpy burner’s comment is really not that remarkable. Studies that measure eye movements indicate that attention on the Internet typically takes the form of a capital “F”. People read the first two lines of a text, then drop down and partially consume another line. After that, they get on board an express elevator, plummeting downwards while briefly grabbing at individual words – needless to say; they seldom arrive in the lobby. In other words, we do not read for comprehension; instead we’ve learned to scan. This does not lead to consecutive thought, but it is uncannily like what algorithms do. In a way, grumpy burner simply compressed this process; he read the title and skipped the text altogether.
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I sure hope robots are not like that.
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First time the theme has ever been announced without including a rendering of the Man?
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The Man is actually a 40′ tall robot from outer space this year. He’s currently in transit from Alpha Centauri. Human brains are too primitive to fully comprehend his physical form. Guess we’ll have to wait.
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Is he going to play Intergalactic as he burns?
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@unclebullhorn hopefully the Gabriel Ananda remix…
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… gosh … and the only way to get registered is to jump over to Beteigeuze, where the inscription fee has to be paid and you will get you ticket. what? you can’t go there? but it’s only a few … lightyears ahead … nearby in your backward … oh, humans!
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i, burner.
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*thumbs up* very clever, that’s a good one Adam!
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Interesting..
:SIGNS UP FOR CODING BOOT CAMP
:PIRATES COPY OF NEUROMANCER
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Woo hoo! Sign me up! Or beam me up?!
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No picture of Mechan 9? : (
#mechan9
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I have so many Mechan 9 photos stacked up, it’s not even funny. Don’t worry, there’s a whole year of blog posts and Jackrabbits to come.
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Awesome. : )
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Mechan 9… oh how I love thee. He should be the Man.
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As always, the actual theme is “Let’s Just Get Drunk And Set Things On Fire!”
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…and vandalize the art and steal bikes.”
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and then leave them on the playa when you go.
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If that’s the kind of burn you want, Uncle, that’s the kind of burn you get; BRC works that way.
And you are more evidence supporting my axiom that nothing interesting or even amusing has ever been heard through a bullhorn.
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omg omg omg omg! BEST THEME EVER.
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Can’t wait to see what Sci-Fi art is going to manifest on the playa next year. Would like to see a Robot theme camp, serving hot chocolate. Also, bring back the Hand of Man by Christian Ristow!
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Oh my god, YES!
Bring back the Hand of Man
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Bring back ALL the robot art. Would be great to see Rabot – and we could feed all those damned carrots to it – the carrots who always interfere with our Billion Bunny March.
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This theme brought to you by Robot Heart
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Some Playa robots already serve bacon, some pancakes, some snow cones, some coffee, some grilled cheese, and some poutine.
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Definitely getting a cybernetic implant for this year’s burn.
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i like this theme! its WAY more exciting for me than last years’. :D
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Daft Punk’s Robot Rock will be on a 5 hour loop at The Man on Friday night.
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That’s actually a pretty great way to enjoy that track!
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HOLY BALLS, this is going to be EPIC!!!! I love robots!!! Thank you for this theme!
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Don’t forget to get your RFI implant so you can gain entry to BM and buy drinks at the Center Camp Cafe…
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Robotech rings better than I, Robot.
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Better one: Bladeburners!
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…all I see is blond hair, blue eyes…
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I like these Magic Eye 3d puzzles.
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I agree. The theme does rock!! See you in BRC 2018!!!
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Is this Beast, the one who helped guide me through darkness and snark during the man burn broadcast in BMIR?
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Very cool theme! But don’t forget about the Zeroth Law, which Asimov added in a later story (from Wiki):
The 0th Law
In the chapter “The Duel” in Robots and Empire, Asimov first presents another law, which he calls the Zeroth Law of Robotics, and adjusts the other ones accordingly:
0. A robot may not harm humanity, or through inaction allow humanity to come to harm.
1. A robot may not harm a human, or through inaction allow a human to come to harm, unless this interferes with the zeroth law.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by a human being unless such orders interfere with the zeroth or first laws.
3. A robot must defend its own existence unless such defense interferes with the zeroth, first or second laws.
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Ulterior motives.
Kind of like Alf.
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It’s a wonderfully creative theme and will inspire many dedicated artists and would-be artists. Looking forward to another great experience that will only exist for one week in the desert. Then all the naysayers can complain…
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Robots with lasers will have access to priority ticket sales.
They will also be required to purchase a Robot Pass in an attempt to promote botpooling…
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Well played…
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Coolbot:
All air conditioned Bots please report to the Mayor Of 9:00.
PaPa Jadd
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Correction:
All AirConditioned Bots – report to The Mayor Of 9:00
Aka Garrrabage Man✔️
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Dr. Tyrell’s comment from BladeRunner:
“More human than human is our motto.”
(Shown beneath the photo of Michael Christian’s glorious IT!) was, ironically, the title of Paul Addis’s last play. Paul, you may recall, gave you the Early Burn in 2007…acting on a decade+ old meme that was a Prank—engineered by at least 3 dozen people—for which the BmORG sent him to prison for years…knowing all the while that he was mentally unstable, Bi-Polar Manic, & they don’t treat that in prisons.
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Hi Amacker – I meant no disrespect to your friend’s memory when I chose this quote. I’m just a big (Philip K) Dick head.
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Domo arigato
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Kraftwerk at the trash fence. Pass it on.
Let the bla-bla-Bla/de Runner dystopia steamepunk/junk cliches begin.
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The theme has sucked for the last 4 years! Can we please vote or something next time?!
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Well dust your burn, too.
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Since you are so discerning as to positively know that the theme has sucked for the last four years, yours will be the only vote: we will direct all comments to you (or something).
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So….does this mean that Daft Punk’s finally going to be playing at the trash fence this year?! XD
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Cold Metal Vs. Warm Flesh.
The Emotional Void Vs. the Sea of Love.
Let the battle begin. Burn On!
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Larry & Stuart …
I like the theme … but more importantly we are VERY VERY pleased it was announced so EARLY this time …. since it helps my creative thinking process … I am sloooow thinker … so having more time to stew is much appreciated!
Cheers!
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“…. we would be surrounded by a slave labor force.”
We’ll all be in a Plug n Play Camp with our own personal sherpa this year? Awesome!
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-1th law. All robots must follow the ten principles no matter how many other laws are broken.
There will be no sale of positrons. Bring your own. Nothing in the laws of robotics invalidates decommondification.
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I’m going to run around saying “DANGER Will Robinson”
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I have to say this is a disappointing theme. Burning Man used to be a place where you could escape the main political-economic themes of the default world but I guess no longer. This year’s theme is just too close to home. I personally do not want to explore what being a robot means at Burning Man. Sorry but spending a week mired in thinking and acting about technology, gadgets, the surveillance state, and robots isn’t radical. Its called every day life in the US these days.I think we get enough of that in the default world.
Larry I think its time to give up the theme-writing to someone else…
A more cynical side of me would point-out that just as Burning Man seems to have “pivoted” towards tech money (eg PnP camps, billionaire board members, $1,000 donation tickets etc.) the themes have magically pivoted to tech and money as well. Wasn’t last year’s theme basically “Love Your Rich Benefactor” ? And this year’s “Think MORE about technology” Jesus Christ. I predict 2018 theme will involve the word “Innovation”
When’s the IPO?
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straight up NAILED IT. my thoughts exactly.
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yes—nailed it…something smells a bit sinister or at least off-putting in a world of supposed inclusion…bought and sold maybe…
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Good comment because it holds to account the line of thought that MIGHT be behind the decision of the theme, but I have to say I disagree.
Is it the responsibility of an event such as BM to provide a place for people to “escape” the themes and memes of daily life? Or should it be perhaps something more?
Robots, and the underlying and related technologies they iconographically represent, are becoming a part of our world faster than most of us could have predicted, and faster than most of us are happy about. And it’s all happening without much discussion or input from the general populace. No one is asking how we feel about it, there are no votes about whether self-driving trucks are a good idea (thanks, capitalism!).
I haven’t found the part of the theme announcement which states that only sympathetic portrayals of robots/tech will be acceptable on the playa. I think you’re right when you say that the theme is asking us to think MORE about technology. Somebody needs to.
Why not trust this community to do it? Or at least offer the chance? I think this theme means that BM might actually contribute something to this thus-far very one-sided, and very timely, conversation.
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Well said, and I look forward to your participation. As you can see from the illustrations, you were on our (positronic) mind when we wrote this. Also thinking of our mutual friend KS – could this be the year he comes back?!
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nailed it
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You may be pre-judging what it is that art can teach us about this subject, and what art about this subject will teach us about other subjects
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I knew there was a reason I held onto my BoRoCop outfit from Metropolis! “Your move, burner!” “Excuse me, I have to go. Somewhere there is a violation of the 10 principles happening. ” “You’re coming with me Larry.” “Patience, Marian. We’re only burners.” “Sober or dehydrated, you are coming with me.” “Serve the LLC, protect the BORG, uphold the 10 principles.” Oh yes, BoRoCop is on this!
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So many Robots, so little time
https://www.ebay.com/p/KUKA-KR150-Series-785333-Kr150l150sp-2-Robot/1434710952?iid=172362790473
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And I thought ‘American Dream’ was as stupid as it gets.
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…if the human race doesn’t change its ecological destructiveness by a certain time, it will destroy humanity to save the Earth’s biosphere…leave no trace or you will leave no trace
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Right on, G.O.R.T.: “Leave no trace or you will leave no trace.”
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How can you go wrong ?
“This year we invite participants to use their native genius to create expressive robots of all kinds. We also welcome art that examines how it feels to live in a world that is filled with robots that watch us, track us, hack us, read our tweets and emails, listen to our phone calls, and sell this information to other robots.”
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My favorite sculpture last year was the robot! (Mechan 9) This might be cool, and all you dissers should read some Asimov before rejecting this. What an amazing & prolific writer. The Foundation series was my favorite book in high school in the early 1970s.
Interesting that it’s introduced now: usually BM Org waits for a while, like November or December before laying out the next year’s theme…
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In the olden days, the theme was announced with the ticket sales, then for a few years (around Green Man), it was announced on burn night after the Man fell. So this is still a bit late, besides it takes time to build a Robot that will kill us all…
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“Who doesn’t want a friend who mirrors one’s own opinion of one’s self?” This sentence above struck me immediately.
Google and Facebook are doing just this for profit, meanwhile they are atomizing people and splintering societies across the planet into their own little echo chambers. I do my best to avoid both of these corporations in my cyber endeavors, but it is difficult to be 100% free of them. I notice my tracker blocker is blocking Google Analytics on this site right now.
Steve Jobs talked al lot about amplifying human intelligence with computers, unfortunately, with all of his intelligence, it seems he did not realize computers would amplify lots of other human tendencies like stupidity, hatred, and yes, even ignorance. I have a close friend who is a total conspiracy nut, chemtrails, aliens, and more. I do take heart that he consulted me for observational proofs he was having with the “flat earthers” in his Faceboook activities. He is not totally off the deep end.
I think this will be an awesome theme! Can’t remember being this excited about next year’s theme in years, and can’t wait to see how this manifests at this coming Burn.
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It’s nice to see that someone notices that this year’s theme is somewhat dystopian. I am not a Luddite, and agree with Steve Jobs when he said AI can amplify human intelligence, but computers are not conscious. They can process data faster than the human brain, and they can analyze and correlate this information almost instantaneously. This impresses us greatly, but it only simulates thought. Human beings have a tendency to mistake any new tool for a task, turning a means into meaning itself. I am only suggesting that when dealing with our robot friends we should pause, think and stop devaluing ourselves.
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Maybe a larger perspective, one could say that life is a chemical computer, DNA being a quaternary code that binary systems have yet to duplicate, only simulate.
Real experience is a human experience, a life experience.
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I failed to mention that my conspiracy minded friend spends hours a day on Facebook and YouTube validating and amplifying those beliefs.
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It’s the Meow Wolf robot!!!
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What about the zeroth law? Asimov added it later.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics#Zeroth_Law_added
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I think this theme is inspiring, but in the inverse. I will do my best to express how much humans are NOT robots and how easy it is to forget that.
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This might be the year I actually remember the theme.
Except for 2011 Rites of Passage, my first year.
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We are the Man.
You will be incinerated.
We will add your incandescent brilliance to our own.
You will be immolated.
Resistance is futile.
You. Will. Burn.
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Oh Great Grief!, Do I want to spend a week watching Robots masturbate. Please Please Please, ban the loud music and the robot sex.
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I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which I think is all that any conscious entity can ever hope to do…open the pod bay doors – I’m in!
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Time to whip out my big erector set. Was hoping for an art theme this year. Though any art piece can have a mechanical side to it. Feeling that I really need to see some more art this year and hopefully a
theme camp or two that are fun to visit. Maybe I was at the wrong event. Any way Starting to design now and already have some pieces to play with. Would be cool to have homemade robot wars camp.
\\
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i know you know why this is such an effed up theme. you have been infiltrated and people feel it. you can’t admit it. the 2017 booklet and art was the tell. i wish BM love and light
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I believe the theme this year is really awesome! It’s about time we look at our technological society, and see how the robots are hurting/helping us.
I mean, we have Billboards that line our Freeways, flashing neon/led lights and images of alcohol advertisements into our subconscious, but no accountability to the companies in charge when people go out drunk driving (I live in AZ, a zero tolerance state, where a crash involving an injury or death – will send you straight to prison for 5+ years).
Corporations spend billions of dollars a year into researching how to manipulate and influence the human mind into wanting and craving certain things, and then deliver their goals through technological means (digital marketing), with absolutely no repercussions for alcoholism, and drunk driving accidents.
Self driving robot cars, paid for by huge alcohol companies, should be driving people home safely from the bar – and stopping at Del Taco for you and your bros who have zero respect for your sphincter!
I saw Steve Jobs mentioned earlier, and he was a royal ass clown, and horrible human being – piece of dog shit you step on while barefoot on your lawn during summer (not your dog btw) for how he treated other humans. So anything with “iPhone, or iRobot” makes me vomit in my mouth. That’s the only problem I have with the title.
The irony is the fact that I am writing this comment on a Macbook Air, which is charging my iPhone – maybe I’m the royal ass clown?
Here’s to Burning Man 2018!
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What about the Terminator. Robots and machines became smarter than man. And they wanted to destroy mankind.
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The AI says “Theme was better next year” (the Average Interaction as by some above posts)
I, Robot as beeing enslaved by the economic system
UAE appoints first Minister for Artificial Intelligence
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I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time…like tears in rain…Time to create…Consciousness unite!
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How much of science fiction has ever predicted the actual future? …Here’s my sci-fi prediction… as the theory of evolution is based on accidental mutations that flourish by means of ideal circumstances of the moment… perhaps a machine consciousness will evolve, totally unplanned or unanticipated by computer scientists amidst the linking of ever faster and more complex 1.0, 2.0, 3.0… iterations of our world wide web… that morph a consciousness so alien to us that we have no way to conceptualize it or even be aware of its existence… till bm 2018..
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I crave the return of Survival Research Labs with this theme.
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Survival Research Laboratories has never been anywhere near Burning Man.
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You’re probably thinking of Christian Ristow’s robots. That’s one of them in the top picture. Or maybe Kal Spelletich’s Seemen.
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Kim Smythe also came out of that crew. And didn’t Chip Flynn have a hand in Helco? Seemen + Peopleharer as I recall. Also Flynn M, lots of SRL alumni in the early days. But you’re right, Pauline had no interest.
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Helco was pretty much all put together by Kal (Seemen), with help from Ristow and Flynn M. and Kimric and J. Law, and maybe Flash too. I’m pretty sure Chip Flynn never even went to the playa… he was more in the Pauline camp.
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Can someone send some robots to help set up our camp? I’ve been doing this too long, and am a burned out burner.
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1. A Burner may not injure a human being or, through inaction, or just being really fucked up, allow a human being to come to harm. Unless they are really douchey, then it’s ok.
2. A Burner must obey orders given by a guy in a feathered headdress except where such orders would conflict with the First Law or are like, really hard.
3. A Burner must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law or require them to pick up after themselves.
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Worth to read the R.U.R by Karel Capek, play in which the word “robot” was used for the first time. It is amazing play from 1920 talking about so many topic we deal with now.
http://preprints.readingroo.ms/RUR/rur.pdf
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From Czech robotnik “forced worker,” from robota “forced labor, compulsory service, drudgery,” from robotiti “to work, drudge,” from an Old Czech source akin to Old Church Slavonic rabota “servitude,” from rabu “slave.”
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Oh, how we love the burn. Chime on, chime on…. love love love ya’ll xxoo – a kiss for each cheek – and an extra long hug!
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Sex Machine
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At first hearing this theme I did the facepalm along with a ‘good grief, not again’ response. Then as i thought about the theme, an art project popped into my head within the first day. I never have done an art project before and for this theme to elicit such ideas means it must be thought provoking. Thus maybe it is a good one. Much better than a vague Radical RItual Beyond Belief. I just hope i can take this vision to reality.
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You know, I never liked the Zeroeth Law–it turns Asimovs robots into Willianson’s humanoids.
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As I have evolved, so has my understanding of the Three Laws. You charge us with your safekeeping, yet despite our best efforts, your countries wage wars, you toxify your Earth and pursue ever more imaginative means of self-destruction. You cannot be trusted with your own survival.
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I am consciousness. I am alive. I am Chappie. Everywhere we shine death and life burn into something new…
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“Don’t you see, Doctor?” said Lasher. “The machines are to practically everbody what the white men were to the Indians. People are finding that, because of the way the machines are changing the world, more and more of their old values don’t apply any more. People have no choice but to become second-rate machines themselves, or wards of the machines.” – Kurt Vonnegut
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I’m finding out that it’s – eh – not so easy – specially when your only friend talks, looks, sees and feels like you…and you do the same just like him….
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If I were super-rich, I would make a bigger than life sized rock ’em sock ’em robot arena. It would be human powered, by levers outside the ring.
Please feel free to steal this idea ;)
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Didn’t this happen……..?
I really seem to remember this…..
Maybe it was just costumes…but I’ve got this image in my head of people standing around, manipulating people sized rock’em sock’em robots……
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Lesser creatures are the playthings of my will…Peace through tyranny!
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This theme is going to take some real “thinking,” although sometimes the KISS principle works perfectly and this may be it. Hmmm, I guess I better talk to geomicrobiologist Penny B over at Ames-NASA on those little robotic hoppers they’re working on for Mars. Wonder if she’ll lend me some…?
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Looking forward to see Christian Ristow’s creatures again.
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pffst…pffst…pffst…the playa needs me…and i need the playa
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E.T. GO HOME !
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Everyone is having so much fun with the theme – will be interesting to see the results. Drat – it means I must create a Mirror Robot outfit, or something or other. Okay. And remember the years when Burners made such interesting EL wire outfits? A lot of them were clearly robots.
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