The Reasonable Computer

New England was aflutter last week, and not just because three judges were named to hear the appeal of the National Football League against Tom Brady in the continued "deflategate" saga. The excitement continued as the media stage of the Northeast opened to Boston Dynamics, a robotics company and wholly owned subsidiary of Google, Inc., which showcased videos of its humanoid robot, Atlas.

As described by the Boston Dynamics website, Atlas (the robot) is "is a high mobility, humanoid robot designed to negotiate outdoor, rough terrain." The videos released last week show Atlas maneuvering through the snow, opening doors, moving weighted boxes, and recovering from a human-like fall to the ground. The videos have garnered immediate excitement from the science fiction community, many of whom are still riding the wave of the spherical BB-8 introduced via Disney's recent installment of Star Wars. Others have taken the time to reflect on the larger...