Are robots animals? Youtube blocks robot fights
YouTube's automatic moderation has labelled videos in which fighting robots destroy each other as cruelty to animals. An oversight? Or is Youtube's AI looking at its comrades?
Youtube has strict guidelines when it comes to the content of its videos. One of these absolute no-go topics is violence against animals. These videos are rigorously removed and the channels are blocked. That's a good thing.
Fighting robots now also fall under "cruelty to animals".
This is illustrated by the case of the user Jamison Go, whose channel features videos like the one below.
Robots decide about robots
When Jamison Go uploaded a video of one of his robot fights, he soon found out that his video had been deleted. The reason: animal cruelty. He finds this interesting because he doesn't have animals fight, but machines that he builds for the competition BattleBots.
In a post on Facebook, the student and robot builder comments on Youtube's takedown. "It's a sad day for fans of robotics. I lost nine videos, others far more," he writes.
The irony: the takedown was fully automated. This means that YouTube's artificial intelligence saw the video, identified a living being that had been harmed and then blocked the video. Robots simply make sure that their own kind are not harmed.
According to the industry portal The Verge, the takedown and the channels that have been partially struck are an oversight. A filter was probably set too sharply, which made YouTube's AI sensitive to robot fights.
Robot sports as a niche hobby
Robot sports have been a niche hobby in robotics for many years. Essentially, the competitions involve two teams competing against each other with remote-controlled combat robots. The first robot to stop moving, fly out of the ring or be completely destroyed loses. A common tactic is to turn the opposing robot on its back.
There are traps such as flamethrowers and pitfalls in the ring. At least in the BattleBots competitor Robot Wars, there are also House Robots in the ring, which inflict additional damage on the combat robots.
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