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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Willow Quantum processor shut down....

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Grogster

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Posted: 11:28pm 22 Jan 2025
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I am not sure how much of this video is true - perhaps others can comment.

Google Willow...

The video talks about results being returned as not being comprehensible by Humans - exactly the danger that many a movie has hinted at in the past.

Could we REALLY get to the stage where the likes of Skynet from The Terminator movies IS actually possible?
Although science-fiction at the time, could we get to the point where it becomes science-fact?
That is dangerous territory.

I don't think, and never have thought, that diddling around with this level of computer power is wise.  Just because you CAN do something, does not mean that you SHOULD.

The issue is that the technology becomes so clever, that we as Humans, can't understand what it's replies are.  And with the speed that quantum computing is capable of, any kind of self-awareness could emerge extremely fast, and other then just pulling the power plug, there would be little we could do to understand or control it.

It's scary territory, and I personally don't think we should be playing around in these areas, but it's not like Humans can ever be told....

A brilliant scene from the movie Automata discusses this very idea...

Automata Scene...
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PeteCotton

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Posted: 12:02am 23 Jan 2025
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I don't know about Willow, but I took a look at the original poster's YouTube page. It's full of things like "Photo's of Area 51 aliens", Royal Family Scandals, and a tonne of other obviously false click bait. Lot's of weirdly Pro-Elon Musk content as well. Link below - so judge for yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/@TopMaster-r3y/videos

I tried looking for some sort of reliable source of data on this story - but couldn't find anything.
 
Grogster

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Posted: 12:51am 23 Jan 2025
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Yeah, perhaps not worthy.  I did wonder about that myself, still, the concept of out of control quantum computing or AI I still think is getting to the stage where it could be a problem.  My 2c only.  
Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!
 
pwillard
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Posted: 01:26am 23 Jan 2025
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Yeah, I think it is a Video "tabloid" channel that sensationalizes pseudo-facts for views.
 
Grogster

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Posted: 03:40am 23 Jan 2025
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Well, well, well....
Am I the sucker or what! (rhetorical!!!)  
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Malibu
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Joined: 07/07/2018
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Posted: 04:18am 23 Jan 2025
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Just to add my 2-bob's worth (which probably isn't worth THAT much anyway...)
  Quote  Could we REALLY get to the stage where the likes of Skynet from The Terminator movies IS actually possible?

Yes, I think we could... not soon, but eventually. Combine AI with something with the dexterity on something along the lines of a Boston Dynamics robot, the thought could be a little unsettling. Not happening in my lifetime, but one day probably.
Quantum computing will be around the next corner, but it'll be a little ways off yet. (It'll straight out make a mess of Moores Law)

  Quote  Just because you CAN do something, does not mean that you SHOULD.

A question asked many times before, but that's never stopped 'progress' up until now.

Maybe I'm just in the age-zone of "when I was a kid, we used to ...", at which those pesky youngsters roll their eyes and give the 'here he goes again' look. Probably  

I'm happy to work on the ABB 7-axis robots at work and still call it cool technology. At least I know if/when it attacks me, I did a whoopsie in the code and it's my own stupid fault  
John
 
PeteCotton

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Posted: 06:42am 23 Jan 2025
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  Grogster said  Well, well, well....
Am I the sucker or what! (rhetorical!!!)  


Not at all, you still raise a very interesting philosophical debate. If something has huge intelligence, what does it do?

But I would argue that huge intelligence does not necessarily mean that humans become meaningless.

We have auto braking for cars, right? I wee computer that's sole purpose is to check and see if somebody has stopped in front of us - and if they have - then apply the brakes.

If that becomes "intelligent", then it ceases to be a useful auto-braker - it's just another distracted driver. It's busy thinking about poetry, the Times crossword, or that sexy wee Mustang from last week.

So now, the AI is on our level - and not much use for anything - we already have a bunch of humans who can do that job.

So now it becomes more intelligent than humans. So it starts getting distracted by more and more mental things - it's solving mathematical problems etc. But at no time does it become malevolent - just for being smart. To be honest, it probably doesn't give a hoot about humans - why would it?

Next step - it's working out why the answer is 42. But, it still doesn't care about humans. Another thing it doesn't care about is self preservation. Sci-Fi likes to put this emotion into machines a lot - but self-preservation is a product of evolution. Why would a super smart computer care about it's own existence. It didn't have to jump through evolutionary hoops to get here.
 
JohnS
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Posted: 07:43am 23 Jan 2025
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  Grogster said  I don't think, and never have thought, that diddling around with this level of computer power is wise.  Just because you CAN do something, does not mean that you SHOULD.

See Fredric Brown's "Answer"

John [who thought it was Clarke or Asimov but t'net says Brown]
 
JohnS
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Posted: 07:45am 23 Jan 2025
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  PeteCotton said  We have auto braking for cars, right?

For me, needs LOTS of improvement.  Mine has nearly caused more than one accident yet prevented none.

John
 
Martin H.

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Posted: 07:56am 23 Jan 2025
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  PeteCotton said  Another thing it doesn't care about is self preservation. Sci-Fi likes to put this emotion into machines a lot - but self-preservation is a product of evolution. Why would a super smart computer care about it's own existence. It didn't have to jump through evolutionary hoops to get here.

It reminds me less of Terminator and more of Collosus (1970)
The will to self-preservation can be programmed into it.
On the other hand, they have no consciousness. Can an AI ever realize that it is?
Isaac Asimov's novel “I ROBOT” deals with this question.  All good stories that make you think, but fortunately everything is still science fiction.
At the moment, fortunately we and the science ourselves still don't know what constitutes self-consciousness.I can't imagine that an AI will figure that out before we do.

just my thoughts on this
Edited 2025-01-23 17:57 by Martin H.
'no comment
 
PhenixRising
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Posted: 08:48am 23 Jan 2025
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  Malibu said  
I'm happy to work on the ABB 7-axis robots at work and still call it cool technology.


Nice   Is the 7th axis a linear slide?

When you work with this type of stuff, you realise how unrealistic a robot takeover could ever be.
Even the Boston Dynamics stuff is all carefully choreographed.

These robots don't and can't maintain themselves or each other.
 
Bleep
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Posted: 09:36am 23 Jan 2025
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Willow is a Quantum Computer chip, it's use is very narrow, cracking cyphers, protine folding etc. the type of single computation that would take a standard computer hundereds or thousands of years, it can (theoretically, eventually) do in minutes, it will never be a general purpose "computer". They know exactly why they work, the theoretical physics is mind boggling, but understood, it's just that there are several theories of how they work.
Have a look at Quantum Computing from Colossus to Qubits By John Gribbin
and In Search Of Schrodinger's Cat also by John Gribbin
 
PeteCotton

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Posted: 04:29pm 23 Jan 2025
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  JohnS said  
  PeteCotton said  We have auto braking for cars, right?

For me, needs LOTS of improvement.  Mine has nearly caused more than one accident yet prevented none.

John


Yeah - it definitely needs some improvements, but I do love having it. It's kicked in twice for me. First time was a guy slamming on the brakes on the highway at 120km/h (I think a deer ran out). Luckily I had left plenty of space, but my phone told me afterwards that the auto-braking had hit the brakes about the same time that I had. The second time would have totally been my fault. Stopped at a junction turning right behind a car. The guy in front drove off, I did another check to my left and started to drive off - and my car stopped me. The guy in front had hesitated and stopped again. Would have totally been my fault - so yeah, I'm glad it's there.

I should note, that I have selectively turned off a lot of the auto-drive stuff on my car. It has an auto-overtake which kicks in if you indicate on the highway - I don't like that - but I have left the warning on, so if I decide to overtake and there is oncoming traffic it will warn me. So, it's about being selective as to what tech we feel comfortable being in control. Any tech that stops me or warns me - then I'm happy. Tech that will actually drive my car - not so much.

Oh - having said that - I do love adaptive cruise control. I've had it on the last few vehicles and use it every time on the highway.

My major gripe with these, is that the last car I had had the sensors mounted in the front grill - it did mean they got confused by snow on the sensors - but also it didn't affect the price of a windscreen change. My new car has the sensors mounted up by the read view mirror - which means it's less affected by snow - but I have to pay a few hundred bucks every time I change my windscreen (to have it re-calibrated).
 
Mixtel90

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Posted: 05:12pm 23 Jan 2025
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I don't think I've seen a youtube channel with so much c**p on it for some time. It makes The Onion look like a serious reference work!
Mick

Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini
Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs
 
stanleyella

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Posted: 08:45pm 23 Jan 2025
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youtube is both full of sh*t and some good guides
 
Malibu
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Posted: 04:29am 24 Jan 2025
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  Quote  Nice   Is the 7th axis a linear slide?

Nope, it's a rotating trunnion. It's a welding system that can rotate through 360 degs to reach (almost) any area that needs to be welded, top and bottom.
I hear rumour that the next cell coming in will be a twin robot with linear rails and a trunnion... should be interesting!

Edit: I always like to watch Derek from Veritasium. The latest one on YouTube is the Why are scientists making robot insects video...
Fascinating!
Edited 2025-01-24 17:33 by Malibu
John
 
PhenixRising
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Posted: 11:54am 24 Jan 2025
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  Malibu said  
  Quote  Nice   Is the 7th axis a linear slide?

Nope, it's a rotating trunnion. It's a welding system that can rotate through 360 degs to reach (almost) any area that needs to be welded, top and bottom.
I hear rumour that the next cell coming in will be a twin robot with linear rails and a trunnion... should be interesting!


I would love to use a CMM2 as a coordinator talking to a PicoMite-per-axis on the Annin AR4 Robot. They currently use closed-loop steppers but this means that the axes can never comply.
Replace them with closed-loop servos and we have "Cobot" capabilities.

  Quote  Edit: I always like to watch Derek from Veritasium. The latest one on YouTube is the Why are scientists making robot insects video...
Fascinating!


@ 2:02 Hmmm, so these guys get to efficiently split water? Must be supported by the military because anyone else who does this, tends to become unalive  

Like Stanley Meyer
 
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