The Truth About Killer Robots (2018) User Reviews

Worth seeing

[johncg25 · 7/10 · 12 January 2019]

This is interesting and most of the negative reviews seem to be people with a "Mark Zuckerburg" viewpoint - that robots pose no threat to humans, while..Elon Musk fueded publicly with him on twitter about this and has...a completely opposite viewpoint.

The film is very interesting, and definitely worth seeing if you are interested in the subject matter. Also the creepy robot narration makes it kindof spooky and atmospheric..and makes you think a bit more. The ending is not completely clear, but in getting there it shows a lot, including how asimov's rule on AI...was probably already broken for the first time in human history.

Very interesting, and definitely worth seeing.

Poorly made and poorly researched

[marcin-mgorecki · 2/10 · 4 December 2018]

I'm an engineer and I read a lot about automation and robotics. Makers of this movie clearly don't.

Movie shows few aspects of robots confusing automation and artificial intelligence. Sections of the movie try to show cases where robotics went wrong or bizarre - deep into man bites dog territory.

The movie is made in style of 1970s and 1980s educational programmes forced on us in schools. All is narrated by Text to Speak engine from 2005, which makes it unpleasant to listen.

Total waste of time.

Fearmongering and sensationalist

[VHSdynamite · 3/10 · 25 November 2018]

Automatisation of society is an important topic that will affect a lot of us, and unfortunately this documentary doesn't treat the issue with the soberness it deserves.

The title says it all. The documentary focuses on tragic work and traffic accidents involving robots and self-driving cars. It focuses on how Asimov's first law is broken and that robots will replace workers in low-entry jobs. This is concerning, but how do we avoid the robot dystopia and use automatisation to our advantage? The documentary doesn't care. It just want to nurture our existing fear of being replaced and cherrypicks the bad stuff.

I'm not a naive techno-optimist, but expect something more serious than this from a documentary. If I want to feed my technophobia, I'd rather watch an episode of Black Mirror.

Title promises more than this half-baked Doc can deliver

[gortx · 2 December 2018]

From it's sensationalist title, to the ominous music and the gimmick of an android 'narrating' it, THE TRUTH ABOUT KILLER ROBOTS promises more than it can deliver. Unquestionably, our future will involve robots and A.I. (although pure examples of artificial intelligence aren't discussed with any depth here), but, Maxim Pozdorovkin's doc barely delivers a coherent argument. It's broken down into three chapters, but that seems to be the only organizational principle at work here. It flits about from location to location and from topic to topic but never builds into anything constructive. There are a few facts and some interesting tech projects unveiled, but this is a missed opportunity. It's not a surprise that HBO has dumped this on their service without much fanfare.

Boring, Sensationalist and statist.

[Oscarsse · 2/10 · 25 December 2018]

First it was merely quite boring, trying to put off stuff like facial expression reading as something new and sensational.

Then it switched to the US and became extremely statist with lots of pictures of "hero" cops that went around and did nothing when people where fired upon, to then turn to very anti-gun and that people should love the police.

At that moment I turned it off.

It happened slowly...

[jonathan-751 · 9/10 · 29 November 2018]

Not really getting the negative reviews. Automation is slowly transforming our psyche by relegating human tasks to what is still not 'automatable'. Power is being moved to those wielding most computing power and the resources to distribute it in the name of profit. It starts with the most obvious, such as Teslas crashing on auto, manufacturing robots killing workers in accidents, but then moves on to subtler issues about how the human psyche is being formed by the possibilities defines by technology and moves into robot warfare. When killing is automated... well, you get it... Dystopian? We'll see...

Just No

[dirtydavew · 4/10 · 17 January 2021]

Very boring and i'm guessing hastily put together. I don't doubt automation has taken over countless jobs, but come on it's just scaremongering. Listen if everything becomes automated and no one has any jobs and subsequently no money then what's the point of it all. I suppose you'll tell me Robots will sell stuff to Robots next

Superficial waste of time, all topics well worn in news and popular culture, no new ground

[tetrahex · 28 November 2018]

Basically all cliches off the top of your head, mentions Asimovs law, never even dealing with the fact that it was merely a literary device made self evident by the stories themselves. Then its just cutting from topic to topic, 5 minutes on self driving teslas, 5 minutes on industrial robot accidents, 5 minutes on sex "bots", never delving into any topics or questions in depth of any kind. I guess this being left wing HBO, giving the actual relevant thorny topic of mass automation of millions of jobs while pushing mass importation of a new peasant class to replace them and cause chaos and distraction during the discontent anything more than a tangential mention would be hitting too close to the core hypocrisies of the modern corporate progressive left. Instead much time is spent on the usual media loving types who have made the rounds, the japanese guy with a "robot" of himself which is little more than 1960s grade disney "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" animatronics, an automaton with no intelligence, fake science for the "science is cool" crowd.

Dry format that puts you to sleep and seems extremely superficial and lacks content.

[hdtvkeith · 31 December 2018]

Was hoping for more, it I should have known when the narration was done in a robotic voice. Wasted almost 90 minutes hoping it would get better.

the worst piece on the issue I have ever seen. Sensationalist and anti-science.

[random-70778 · 1 July 2019]

Wow. I am a longtime supporter of Nick Bostrum serious warnings on AI. it certainly is the most serious potential existential danger to humans that has yet arisen. But this film is is flackly and so forced on nonsense narratives that it is childish. he is taking Tesla driving accidents, sex robots, military robotics, and all technology and AI issues and cramming them into what they are not -- they are not one phenomena. It is like saying that "technology" when it comes to the wheel, fire, the first metallurgy, or agriculture itself were all the same -- and dangerous. That is not true.

Essentially this is a fake news exemplified: Create a nonspecific vague fear, conflate unrelated issues, cherry pick and bias filter exclude any data or rational argument.

And what on earth was the last vignette with the law enforcement officer? It was forced and at of nowhere and actually clashed with what the experts have stated. He seems to be saying that governments and their agents should exclusively have all the weapons ( this case civilian basic light firearms) and citizens shoudl have none. Pozdorovkin ought to reread his Bostrum. The problem with AI is SINGULARITY -- the monopoly of all power and force in government that is the likely/certain main manifestation of the most acute danger.

When is the last time you seen a robot in use?

[tdonnelly-4 · 27 November 2018]

The Description states " As more and more people use robots" The only people I seen use robots are in Sci-Fi movies. This is a Documentary , what's next a Documentary on how eclectic driverless cars are taking all the parking spots?