There's a lot that doesn't compute these days. Exponential, hypernovel change is already here—and accelerating. Hang onto your tam o’ shanters. It’s going to be a wild ride.

And science fiction has already given us a date to worry about. In the Terminator universe, August 29, 1997 is Judgment Day—the day Skynet, the artificial-intelligence defense network, becomes self-aware and decides that humanity is the problem. Not technically the “Singularity,” but certainly Hollywood’s rather memorable version of what can happen when artificial intelligence crosses a threshold beyond human control.

Ah, for the good old days, when a robot knew its place: faithfully serving its human masters. How times have changed! What was once the stuff of science fiction has moved far beyond the friendly mechanical assistants of retro television, space-opera fantasies, and obliging little robotic vacuum cleaners bumping around the living room.

AI and robotics are rapidly working their way into nearly every aspect of modern life: chatbots that converse like friends, spy drones small enough to resemble insects, “smart” appliances that monitor our habits—for our own benefit, naturally—robotically implanted brain-computer interfaces, and the emerging Internet of Bodies, in which connected technologies may be worn, implanted, or otherwise integrated with the human body.

There’s quite a lot here that doesn’t compute.

But let that not stand in the way of ensuring that our future humanoid robot companions are at least nattily turned out.

This wonderfully three-dimensional tartan, evocative of vintage robot innards, old-fashioned core memory, circuit boards, wires, and blinking machinery, ensures that all sentient—and fashion-conscious—robotic beings may be traditionally attired for the coming robot revolution.

The “Technological Singularity” is the hypothesis that sufficiently advanced artificial intelligence could trigger runaway technological growth, producing changes so rapid and profound that they become difficult—or impossible—for humans to predict. Along the way, we are already debating roboethics, transhumanism, autonomous military systems, artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and just how much human decision-making we really want to hand over to machines.

Reducing the need for much human productivity, they tell us.

A euphemism if ever I’ve heard one.

What could possibly go wrong?

Beep! Beep! Resist, humans! Save your humanity! 🖤 🤍 🖤 ⏳ ⌛ 🤖