Aug. 29, 1997 at 2:14 a.m. EST. What’s the significance of that date? It’s the exact time Skynet became self-aware.
If you’re already lost, we’re not off to a good start. That’s a “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” reference to the point in time when the machines revolted and fought back. We’re referencing it because a video of a gun-shooting robot from the Corridor YouTube channel went viral this week. But you can relax, the video is fake. Robots can’t shoot guns like in the above video … yet.
The Gun-Shooting Robot vs. Reality
The above video first leaked in short clips on Instagram with people freaking out that the robot apocalypse wasn’t far off. In all fairness, the smaller clips did look real. However, if you watch the entire video above, it’s very clear that the gun-shooting robot is CGI.
Having said that, the video does bring up some very interesting concepts as they relate to gun-shooting robots and engaging with humans, specifically the technology. The humans in the video put the robot in compromising positions with multiple guns. It looks like a simple accuracy test, but then they start physically abusing the robot to see how it can handle the abuse while shooting.
Then things take a turn where the humans hit the robot with a battering ram and point guns at it to test whether or not it will act and engage with a “friendly” target. It does not. In the last test, the humans put a robotic dog in front of the armed robot with the directive to shoot it. The robot refuses, finally succumbing to “emotion.” It fires multiple rounds at the humans — purposely missing — and flees with the dog.
Again, it’s all fake, but it’s interesting to think about how that might play out in reality. Watch the video above and see for yourself. At the very least, it’s a good discussion piece about the future of robotics.
Side note: If you like “The Terminator” as much as we do, check out our piece on the best guns from movie.
