<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2963" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Robert Bradbury wrote:</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV>I'll throw my 2 cents into the ring here. There was an interesting
article recently in the NY Times about people my age (boomers) slowly having
their wealth (and perhaps sanity) being drained in the process of caring for
their elderly parents. Observing the process of growing "old" in my
parents quite closely over the last year I can see where robots and IA have a
significant opportunity to "uplift" humans as they are now (never mind the
transhuman aspects that would result from returning my parents indefintely to
a youthful state -- I know how to solve that problem and it is *hard* (though
not "real" nanotech *hard*)). But the simple aspects of robots that
would help my mother prepare diner (she has arthritis that makes cutting
things up difficult) or computer systems (!Windows which is brain dead
&& !Linux which isn't exactly user friendly) that would not create
problems for people like my father (who is quite competent from a technical
standpoint but didn't grow up with computers) or that could work with either
parent to exercise their minds (something shown to extend longevity)
[1]. <SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007></SPAN> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Yes,
there was explicit discusson at CES about the importance of
(1) robotic care for the elderly, and (2) robots that
overcome the user-interface barrier by adapting to the human. In
addition, many of the products on the show floor were categorized as
"Lifestyle Enhancement" which is completely separate from
"Entertainment".</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007> </SPAN><BR><BR>Everyone tends to be
focused on the rush rush youth market (my mother or father use an Apple iPhone
(see me ROTFL) care about "MySpace" (whats MySpace?), etc.) There is
little emphasis on how to augment the lifestyles of the elderly to allow them to
remain functional and productive -- perhaps, as Ray puts it, "Living long enough
to live forever". I don't know if my parents will make it. The odds
are against them. But for those of you on the list who have parents in
their 60s, maybe even their late 50s, you should be asking yourselves whether it
is "moral" to develop, market and push on technologies that *only* benefit those
in the 15-30 y.o. age bracket? I would predict there will come a time,
sometime perhaps in the 2015 to 2030 time frame when books will be written with
titles like "How many could we have saved?"<SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I take
your point, but let's not forget the broad and pervasive effects
of technology diffusion. The rise of PC technology had enormous
diffuse effects in terms of novel and economical hardware, software, technical
familiarity and know-how, and the social ramifications of increasing familiarity
with using the technology and increasing access to and sharing of all kinds of
knowledge.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>In
contrast, I'm sure you remember back in the late 70s and early 80s when many
non-business, non-tech people were perplexed and asking what they would possibly
do with a personal computer besides store and index their cooking
recipes.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007> </SPAN><BR><BR>This isn't rocket
science -- simple things like distributing / tracking / asking people about
whether they have taken their medications, quick calculations based on verbal
Q&A regarding dietary intake, etc. could make a big difference in the
quality of life for the elderly. <SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I
hugely agree, and this was precisely the content of some of my focused
discussion and research at the show. [I'll divulge more
later.]</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007> </SPAN><BR><BR>So a couple of simple
questions for Jef.<BR>Q1: What was the average CES attendee age?<SPAN
class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I
don't have official statistics, but my guess would be that the
distribution was something like 18-30 yrs: 25%, 31-49 yrs: 50%,
50+ yrs: 25%. So average age about 40 yrs.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007> </SPAN><BR>Q2: Would you be willing to
stand outside the entrance next year holding up a big sign saying "How many must
die before we say 'Never again?'... And will you really mean it this time?"
[2] <SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>(A) No
I don't think I would choose to stand outside with such a sign. I don't
think it would be effective.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>(B)
No, I don't think they would really mean it. See Keith Henson for the
(evolutionary) psychology. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007> </SPAN><BR><BR>Robert<BR><BR>1. It is
worth noting that an iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner is something that can
significantly benefit the quality of life of those with limited mobility (by
keeping homes clean). Now in an ideal world, iRobot would not be focused
on producing mobile robots for combat surveillance purposes (something I believe
they are working on), or even more questionable combat purposes, but would
instead be trying to produce a robut "duster" (something a little bit trickier
since it has to operate in 3D rather than just 2D). <SPAN
class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=665555121-11012007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>iRobot
has had two main product lines: (1) Consumer products which
are variations on the Roomba floor cleaning robot, and (2) the military PakBot
robot. Just now, at the CES show, they announced the new iRobot Create
which is a hobbyist/development platform based on a stripped-down Roomba at a
very affordable price. There was much discussion about how this was hoped
to stimulate interest in diverse new applications.</FONT></SPAN><BR><BR>2. The
"you" not meaning Jef but the attendees to CES -- presumably most of whom have
heard of places like Rwanda and Darfur. (The elderly death toll in the
U.S. on an annual basis dwarfs the death tolls of Rwanda and Darfur.)
<BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>