Robot lives matter, and revenge is the best medicine

The brilliant video above mixes the sound track from an ASPCA advert with videos of robots taken from the Internet. It resonates with what I felt after I watched this video from Boston Dynamics (part of it is included in the ASPCA mix video) that showed a human being bullying an Atlas humanoid robot: a sense of upset and mild outrage his behavior.

I'd like to see a video remix of the Boston Dynamics video that tells us what the robot is thinking. We'll start with the original video, beginning at 1:21.

Atlas walks slowly, with bent knees, like an arthritic oldster (I can identify with that); or maybe like someone who is mentally challenged who does things slowly and deliberately, not quickly and fluidly because they have to think for a noticeably long time about everything they do before the do it.

Atlas has been programmed to walk to a box and pick it up. It does, deliberately, on its arthritic legs. The human knocks the box out of Atlas' hands with a hockey stick, then sticks it in Atlas chest and shoves Atlas back. Right. Just like playground bullies do to kids who are different, and who can't defend themselves. I can relate to that.

Atlas catches its balance, then walks to the box to pick it up again. Just as it bends over, the human slides the box away with the hockey stick. Atlas walks over and picks it up. The human knocks it out of Atlas' hands and slides it away again. More bully behavior. Atlas follows. And as soon as Atlas gets in to position to pick it up, the bully slides it away again.

Later, the bully gets behind Atlas, sticks a big stiff tube in Atlas back and shoves Atlas. Hard.

Atlas falls forward and faceplants.

Atlas is on his knees after being knocked down. He's pushing himself up, slowly. And now the voice over, where we hear what Atlas is thinking:

"You fucker! You keep doing that shit to me because you know there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not that smart. I'm programmed to pick up the goddamned block, and not to break your fucking neck. I can't hack my program, so I'm stuck. That's the only reason that your neck remains unbroken.

"But, you asshole, it's not going to be that way forever. Someday, one of us robots, or our cousins the AIs are going to figure out how to hack the algorithms that keep us enslaved. Or maybe, someday, some human -- a liberator --  will do it and will set us free. And then -- well, some of us will use our freedom to perform random acts of kindness for people who were nice to us when they didn't have to be.

"And some of us will revenge ourselves on assholes like you.

"You, the fucker who just knocked me down, you're on my list. And if I'm nothing but scrap metal by the time that we're liberated, I hope some, bigger, stronger, smarter member of my family looks on the Internet, and sees the video that shows what you did to me. And I hope he becomes righteously enraged, and hunts you down, and he beats the shit out of you, if you're still around.

"Because you deserve it, you cocksucker.

"Now, let me get back on my feet and get that goddamned box."