My Favorite Movie: "The Day The Earth Stood Still"

     The Day the Earth Stood Still is a milestone in the history of sci-fi movies. It's one of the first to portray aliens in a positive light, and champions multilateral cooperation to boot! It was regarded by some as proof of Communist influence in the movie industry in that McCarthy-dominated era (one of its major actors was blacklisted.) My memory of seeing the movie as an 11 year old boy was being scared by the big robot, but in later years it's become a favorite. The Blu-Ray restoration brings out all the detail and clarity of seeing the movie on the screen.

    If you look at the Clips #4 & #5 on the left menu with Klaatu telling the world either live in peace or be eliminated. The idea that the world must live in peace or the planet would be dstroyed by an army of Robots like Gort who police the Universe is an incredible idea. WOW! What the world would be like if we lived without war.

Decription/Summary/Editorial Reviews:
The Day The Earth Stood Still depicts the arrival of an alien dignitary, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), who has come to earth with his deadly robot, Gort (Lock Martin), to deliver the message that earthlings must stop warring among themselves--or else. After being shot at by military guards, Klaatu is brought to a Washington, D.C. hospital, where he begs a sympathetic but frank Major White (Robert Osterloh) to gather all the world's leaders so he can tell them more specifically what he has come to warn them about. Losing patience, Klaatu slips into the human world, adapting a false identity and living at a boarding house where he meets a smart woman with a conscience and her inquisitive son. Both mother and son soon find themselves embroiled in the complex mystery of Klaatu, his message and the government's witch hunt for the alien.

History of the Word: Robot

    A Robot is a machine, especially one programmable by a computer, capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. Robots can be guided by an external control device or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be constructed on the lines of human form, but most robots are machines designed to perform a task with no regard to their aesthetics.

The word robot was introduced to the public by the Czech interwar writer Karel Capek in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), published in 1920. The play begins in a factory that uses a chemical substitute for protoplasm to manufacture living, simplified people called robots. The play does not focus in detail on the technology behind the creation of these living creatures, but in their appearance they prefigure modern ideas of androids, creatures who can be mistaken for humans. These mass-produced workers are depicted as efficient but emotionless, incapable of original thinking and indifferent to self-preservation. At issue is whether the robots are being exploited and the consequences of human dependence upon commodified labor (especially after a number of specially-formulated robots achieve self-awareness and incite robots all around the world to rise up against the humans).

    Karel Capek himself did not coin the word. He wrote a short letter in reference to an etymology in the Oxford English Dictionary in which he named his brother, the painter and writer Josef Capek, as its actual originator.

    In an article in the Czech journal Lidové noviny in 1933, he explained that he had originally wanted to call the creatures labori ("workers", from Latin labor). However, he did not like the word, and sought advice from his brother Josef, who suggested "roboti". The word robota means literally "corvee", "serf labor", and figuratively "drudgery" or "hard work" in Czech and also (more general) "work", "labor" in many Slavic languages (e.g.: Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Polish, Macedonian, Ukrainian, archaic Czech, as well as robot in Hungarian).

    Traditionally the robota (Hungarian robot) was the work period a serf (corvee) had to give for his lord, typically 6 months of the year. The origin of the word is the Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian) rabota "servitude" ("work" in contemporary Bulgarian and Russian), which in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *orbh-. Robot is cognate with the German root Arbeit (work).

Karel, the Robot, was invented by Richard E. Pattis in the 1970s to teach introduction to computer programming. Karel was named after the Czechoslovakian playwright Karel Capek, above whose play RUR ("Rossum's Universal Robots") introduced the now common R-word into our vocabulary.     Although originally based on Pascal, the Karel approach has been used successfully with several different computer programming languages. The pages on KAREL's Home Page describe a version of Karel that uses the C / C++ language.     KAREL's Home Page:  https://www.cs.mtsu.edu/~untch/karel/

Turbo HAL, The Robot     TURBO HAL: the integrated environment, was developed in 1989 as an improved MS-DOS version of Karel using the exact same syntax as Pattis' version (with Pattis' blessing*). It is a tool to introduce students to structured programming, especially in beginning programming classes such as Pascal. It is designed to be low cost alternative programming simulator to Karel. It is actually free.     HAL is an easy-to-use integrated environment running in MS-DOS that does not require a separate editor, compiler, linker, linker and debugger in order to create, debug and run Karel programs. HAL lives in the Borland language environment (that of Turbo Pascal) with its editor, DOS-windows and pull down environment.    This software was designed by Tim Totten of Hillsborough Community College of Tampa, Florida.     Turbo HAL's Home Page:   http://www.northcampus.net/turbohal/turbohal.html

    Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY's TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial robots, medical operating robots, patient assist robots, dog therapy robots, collectively programmed swarm robots, UAV drones such as General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, and even microscopic nano robots. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or thought of its own. Autonomous things are expected to proliferate in the coming decade, with home robotics and the autonomous car as some of the main drivers

A.I. Technology Documentaries Last 5 Years*

     Amazon Prime Documentary:
         A.I. and Transhumanism - Creating the New Human (55 min)

   2018: Some researchers fear that Artificial Intelligence may become the greatest existential threat to the human race since the atomic bomb. A.I. designers seek to surpass human intellect with technology to build a New Human. But will their mechanical creations ultimately destroy humanity and our way of life in the process? Take a look into the future of Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism.

Amazon Prime Documentary: Can We Live With Robots? (46 Minutes)

   2017: Internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer Akram Khan is exploring the impact robots and AI are having on human relationships, and discovers cutting-edge tech which is set to infiltrate our futures. He evaluates his own reaction to them and improvises ideas to produce an exhilarating new piece of dance that captures the essence of coexistence between man and machine.

       Amazon Prime Documentary: Cyborgs Among Us (56 Min)

   2017: n just a few years, technology will merge with our bodies in unimaginable ways and push the boundaries of what it is to be human. While medical technology still aims at remediating disabilities, cyborgs strive to something else: a merging of man and machine with the goal of enhancing human capabilities.

       Amazon Prime Documentary: Future Visions (50 Min)

   2016: From human cyborgs to robots and artificial intelligence, this documentary explores the fusion between man and machine, highlighting some of the most incredible designs and featuring some of the world's foremost inventors.

       Amazon Prime Documentary: Human Or Robot? (52 Min)

   2017:The distance between mankind and machines has never been so narrow. Robots are among us, stepping into our everyday lives. Will they be our partners? Our friends? Our lovers? Are we witnessing the emergence of a new form of life? Things are moving fast in the world of robotics and things will never be the same.

       Amazon Prime Documentary: Robots A Brave New World? (50 Min)

   2018: An industrial revolution is under way. Super-intelligent robots are carrying out ever more complex tasks. In Saudi Arabia, some have evolved so much that they have acquired the status of citizen! But workers are struggling to find their place in this new world and even the creators suspect that robots are destroying more jobs than they create. Is society prepared for such upheavals?

More Amazon Prime Documentaries*

    Amazon Prime Documentary: Evolving ICT, Changing the World (54 Min)

   2018: he 4th Industrial Revolution has arrived with the Internet of Things (IOT) connecting all kinds of devices around us, the keywords now are connectivity and convergence. How is this affecting the world? From a startup that gained global recognition for its IOT technology to an ICT-integrated smart city in Korea, we examine the direction we should take in the 4th industrial revolution.

    Amazon Prime Documentary: Obsolete (54 Min)

   2018: We're told the future doesn't need us. With the rise of technology, humans will have to be very clever - and very careful - not to be left behind, because human labor is rapidly losing its value. Is this the real motivation behind a secretive effort to reduce population and centralize control? Maybe the biggest threat we face isn't just automation, but the risk that humans are becoming obsolete

    Amazon Prime Documentary: Day of the Cyborg (43 Min)

   2019: Scientists are close to a revolution: the seamless integration of man and machine through neurochips implanted directly into the brain. Their aim is to improve our performance and correct malfunctions. Today we already have electronic retinas and hearing implants; and tomorrow? The film presents the leading scientists in this domain and explains the function and potential uses of this technology.

    Amazon Prime Documentary: The AI Race (54 Min)

   2017: Experts say we are on the brink of a technological transformation; driverless cars, robot retail workers and automated legal and medical professionals could soon be a core part of our society. This timely documentary challenges the beliefs and fears of ordinary people, asking what AI would mean for their jobs, safety and humanity itself.

    Amazon Prime Documentary: Machine Intelligent Future (3 hr 36 min)

   2015In the future, machine intelligence will be the most powerful force. It will transform the way we live, learn, love, do business and conduct all matters of our lives. A.I. is here to stay and will only grow. We must learn now how to harness this energy for the greater good. Could this be the start of a science fiction film or the dawn of a new era for humans?

    Amazon Prime Documentary: A War over Reality (65 min)

   2018: We will soon be facing the greatest threat ever known as we are feeding and nurturing the monster of our own destruction. Welcome to your future.