washington post online chat extravaganza

Concerned readers of the Washington Post once again had their way with me on topics ranging from sex with robots, to envisioned robot battles, to whether or not our metal friends can love.

Elkton, MD: What is the probability there will be a human savior who is the robot slayer?

Daniel H. Wilson: Of course there will be a human savior to save us from the robots. It will go something like this: A washed up alcoholic trucker who just wants to get his kid back will reluctantly take on the robots and ultimately win both the respect of his son and the robot truck of his dreams.

Check out the full transcript of my washington post interview.

Robot Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Today I returned to my alma mater -- Carnegie Mellon University -- and delivered a short keynote address during the Robot Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The event inducted David (from the movie A.I.), the Sony AIBO, Gort (from The Day the Earth Stood Still), the SCARA robot arm, and Maria (from Metropolis). It was nerd heaven. The Master of Ceremonies was none other than Anthony Daniels -- the guy who played C-3PO in every Star Wars movie. Needless to say, I had a very good time.

Here's a bit of my speech:

"Robots have always been a combination of fact and fiction. The fictional robots in movies inspire us to build real robots. And those real robots go on to inspire Hollywood producers to pay Arnold Schwarzenegger $30 million dollars to get naked in yet another Terminator movie. It's a beautiful symbiosis of imagination and technical skill."

Countdown... with Keith Olbermann

I was interviewed by Keith on Countdown tonight. He wanted to know about the ethics of having sex with robots. It was on MSNBC's mind because of this article in the Times. I had a good time, but some of the things I said are making me cringe now *just a little bit*:

"WILSON: We'll be having sex with robots long before they're actually conscious of it."

Yikes!

Doomsday Scenarios on SciFi Channel

I'll be on a SciFi Channel TV show Wednesday, June 14th at 9pm EST.

The program is called "Doomsday" and it covers ten different doomsday scenarios. Guess which scenario I talk about? Oh yeah -- what if ROBOTS RUN AMUCK AND KILL ALL HUMANS? Not very likely, but preparation is key to survival...

Here is some text taken from www.scifi.com

"Countdown to Doomsday provides a chilling look at the scenarios threatening to induce our planet's next mass extinction, and also how these catastrophes can be averted. Hosted by Matt Lauer, Countdown to Doomsday uses top of the line special effects to illustrate the knowledge and imagination of the world's leading scientists, viewers will experience the magnitude of each catastrophe as SCI FI brings the 10 shocking scenarios to life. In addition to the heart pounding "what ifs," potential solutions will also be explored. Shot around the globe, Countdown will reveal the potential consequences of ominous terrestrial threats like global warming, asteroid collisions and pandemic outbreaks. Countdown to Doomsday will premiere on Wednesday, June 14 from 9-11 PM."