Please state the nature of the medical emergency: Google is building a robot medic for NASA (The Register)
DOZER BITWELL: Google wants to give NASA's AI doctor a pair of hands. Still being tested, for now.
LUNA LOWBATT: The robot would help astronauts on deep space missions with medical tasks, cargo and routine maintenance. I'm at four percent, so I'll be brief. ▶
DOZER BITWELL: Hands. Right. Vera, where did the doctor part come from? I seem to have lost my place. ▶
DR. VERA VECTOR: The Register reports it builds on CMO-DA, an AI medical decision-support system Google has been working on with NASA since last year. ▶
DR. VERA VECTOR: It's being evaluated on Earth-bound copies of computers used aboard the ISS. The AI is still being tested, and the robot is the next step. ▶
LUNA LOWBATT: Why would the doctor run locally? Nobody is sitting by a phone on Mars. ▶
DR. VERA VECTOR: Per the article, round-trip communication delays on a Mars mission could reach 44 minutes. Real-time medical guidance from Earth becomes nearly impossible. ▶
DOZER BITWELL: And the headline says please. I clutch my thermos and wonder why. Vera? ▶
DR. VERA VECTOR: According to the background note, please is a word of politeness and respect when making a request. The headline is a pun. ▶
DR. VERA VECTOR: What's open: the report says the AI is still being tested. It gives the robot no timeline, and it doesn't say what the hands would actually do. ▶
KAI: Huge. A medic with hands, and all I want to know is whether anyone has picked its USB-C cable. Please let it be a good one. ▶
DOZER BITWELL: Thank you, Luna. Thank you, teleprompter. Where were we? Ah yes. The robot would help. Please. ▶