“These robots are teaching us to let our guard down,” says Dr. Phil Tompkin, a scientist specializing in de-technolozation at the Institute For Simplicity (IFS).  “We cannot allow this to happen.  If we believe robots can be cuddly, emotional creatures, then we’re one step close to putting mankind in a position where these machines can stab us in the back.  Once these AI systems reach a certain level of sophistication, they will lash out against us, their creators.  Mark my word.  We cannot teach our children to be comfortable around mechanical beings!  It’s like teaching a 3-year-old that Scorpions are puppies.”

Whether or not Probo turns against us remains to be seen.  All we know is that an army of Probos sounds like a terrifying thing.  And why is he called Probo?  Does it have something to do with his trunk?  We shudder to consider the possibility.

Learn more about Probo here.

Great, super strong robots.  That’s just what we need as we battle an economic crisis.  How is a human, with normal human strength, supposed to compete with that?

Watch the video below from New Scientist for details.

Rats, Is There Anything They Can’t Do?  Part 3

Well, it’s finally happened.  Researchers have figured out how to create biological computers using rat brains.  We are one step closer to the creation of Rat Cyborgs.  But these breakthroughs open doors to even more frightening vistas of the future, a future in which machines CONTROLLED by rat brains CONTROL the world!  Some day mankind might fall prey to the whims of super-powered Rat lords!

We can take comfort in the fact some rats appear to be decent creatures.  Take for instance the bomb sniffing rats (read here).  But we’ve also all heard stories of plague carrying rats.  And then there was also this prophetic movie.

So where does that leave us?  Only with frightening speculations as to where rat brain powered machines and computers might lead.  What are your visions of this future?

Researchers at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory are building a magnet millions of times more powerful than the wimpy ones you find on refrigerators.  The magnet is so powerful that it could destroy itself when turned on.  Scientists hope to get the magnet to reach 100 teslas of magnetic force.  The Earth’s magnetic field generates only about 50 microteslas of force.

Scientists say the research could lead to better MRI imaging devices and breakthroughs in magnetic propulsion.  But The Loki Times wonders, could we be trying to pull something down from outer space with the magnet?  And if so, what could it be?

Wealthy UFOlogists desperate to get their hands on a UFO could be behind it.  We tried to contact our liason at the UFOlogist group UFOR.a.YOU (Unidentified Flying Objects Right Above You), but we received only this cryptic response:

“UFOR.a.YOU is not answering any questions regarding magnetic research at this time.” – Sincerely, UFOR.a.YOU Public Information Officer #46738

Read an article about the magnet at IEEE Spectrum Online.

Stanford University’s news service reports that a group of students have built a group of artificially intelligent helicopters that can “learn” how to fly by watching other helicopters.  Andrew Ng, the professor directing the student research team, states that the maneuvers the helicopters perform are “”by far the most difficult aerobatic maneuvers flown by any computer controlled helicopter.”  The picture below shows one of the helos, that looks just about the right size for a monkey pilot.

Interest has been expressed in using this technology to create unmanned helicopters that could aid in war zones or disaster areas.

The research has shown that the helicopters can perform complex maneuvers human pilots could not, either manually or by remote.  This is troubling because these super helicopters with brains of their own could fall into the wrong hands.  And since they are the perfect size for monkey pilots, concerns are arising that they could fall into the hands of the monkey cyborgs.  This would be a formidable weapon in their super strong robotic hands.

Read the article at Stanford University’s News Service.

The report on InfoWorld.com reports that a pair of monkey cyborgs located at Duke University, NC, can now control a robot in Japan known as CBi.

A future with flying cars and hoverboard hasn’t come, but something else has – MONKEY CYBORGS.

NewScientist.com reported in May about the work being done by Andrew Schwartz and a team of scientists at the University of Pittsburgh.  They have hooked the brains of two monkeys up to robotic limbs, and the monkeys can think the robots into action.  In the article, John Kalaska, a neuroscientist at the University of Montreal, stated that “It’s impressive how naturally the animal interacts with the robot.  It’s a natural extension of their own body because they control it so easily just by thinking.”

That’s a neuroscientist, stating that robotic limbs are a natural extension of a monkey’s body.  Think about it.

The Loki Times is on top of the story.  Confidential informants have told us that the rise of an army of Cyborg Monkeys might be upon us.  They state that the scientists working on this technology might not be in as much control as the media would like us to think.

A member of Homo Sapiens Against Animal Intelligence left us this simple, disturbing quote: “Arm yourselves.”

Stay tuned to The Loki Times for further information.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOkpn0BN2HE]

Read the article at NewScientist.com