Giant Robots

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

Isaac Arthur

Spacecraft, Scifi, Engineering, Interstellar Travel, Civilizaiton, Space Station, Future, Future Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, Technological Future, Cybernetics, Human Civilizaiton, Sci Fi, Space Megastructures, Astronomy, Megastructures, Energy Abundance, Physics, Space, Space Infrastructure, Technology, Futurism, Genetics, Starship, Post Scarcity, Transhumanism, Long Term Future, Space Colonization, Spaceship, Future Of Humanity, Space Industry, Science

4.9 • 781 Ratings

🗓️ 18 April 2019

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Giant Robots & Power Suits Giant Robots, or Mecha, in films and comic books fascinate audiences, but are usually considered impractical even with improved technology in the future. Today we'll look at them and concepts like power armor and exoskeletons and see if such suits might have a practical role in warfare or uses other than combat. Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/7ZlLtfQik1c Start listening with a 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook plus two Audible Originals are free. Visit http://www.audible.com/isaac or text "ISAAC" to 500-500. Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE Credits: Giant Robots & Power Suits Episode 182, Season 5 E16 Written by: Isaac Arthur Editors: Darius Said Jerry Guern Keith Blockus Matthew Campbell Phonetic Failure Cover Art: Jakub Grygier https://www.artstation.com/jakub_grygier Graphics by: Jeremy Jozwik https://www.artstation.com/zeuxis_of_losdiajana Mike Munt of Apogii http://www.apogii.uk Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur Music Manager Luca DeRosa - lucaderosa2@live.com Music: Paradox Interactive, "The Titan" https://www.paradoxplaza.com Marcus Junnikkala, "A Fleet Behind The Moon" https://www.markusjunnikkala.com/ Sergey Cheremisinov, "New Worlds" https://www.s-cheremisinov.com Stellardrone, "Journey To The Sun" https://stellardrone.bandcamp.com Marcus Warner, "Emergency Protocol" https://marcuswarnermusic.bandcamp.com Paradox Interactive, "The Last Stand" https://www.paradoxplaza.com Ender Guney, "Big Gun Epic Cinematic" https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHEioEoqyFPsOiW8CepDaYg See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory,
0:05.2	we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge.
0:10.5	To hear it and every episode early and ad-free, plus hours of bonus content,
0:15.1	check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur.
0:20.3	This episode is sponsored by Audubal.
0:23.2	One of the most disappointing moments in my life was when I realized that as cool as they look,
0:29.4	giant robots just are not practical war engines, or are they?
0:34.4	Or are they?
0:47.3	So today we are taking another look at how warfare might adjust to the future as we
0:52.3	develop better technology and shift into other
0:54.8	battlegrounds like outer space, cyberspace, virtual reality, or even the human mind.
1:00.9	The human mind, of course, has always been the principal battleground and origin of all these
1:06.5	changing battlefield landscapes, and when hypothetical technologies show up in our fiction
1:12.0	and daydreams, they're not always well bounded by pragmatism and hard science.
1:18.2	Giant robots that people can pilot, or exoskeletons and power armor we can don, are two
1:23.9	such examples, and also great examples of how a storyteller's medium impacts
1:29.1	what stories they can tell.
1:31.5	Fundamentally, giant humanoid war machines just look awesome, so they mostly appear in fiction
1:37.2	we can see, initially in comic books and graphic novels rather than traditional text-only
1:42.8	novels.
1:44.1	When they showed up later in TV and film, it was first mostly in animation like the Gundam
1:48.9	franchise where they weren't so technically difficult and expensive to film and didn't
	...

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