I can't wait until news comes out about cats or hawks killing and eating them.
Technology
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
This an an absolutely exceptional claim that would put the company decades beyond any tech I have seen. They are claiming remote control of a complicated animal in flight. They also claim it is without training and over distances impossible for a bird as small as a pigeon to carry radio gear.
This is not believable without any evidence.
Propaganda mills run 24hrs in time of war. All sectors of industry are often involved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Propaganda_Works
I absolutely do not believe these claims until they're independently verified
I’m not sure propaganda has ever been more intense and widespread than it is now with ubiquitous tech addiction
That is what I was getting out without trying to use the loaded words.
I've heard of the particular people behind that particular company achieving similar things 12 years ago with, eh, humans. That's of the "bloody regime horror stories" genre. There will be no proof.
Also honestly
would put the company decades beyond any tech I have seen
why not? They have plenty of money and expertise. Something you don't want to believe? Too bad, neither do I.
Indeed "thousands of km" is far fetched:
some of which are expected to be sent thousands of kilometers away while others remain in Moscow for further trials.
Well... The electronics are solar powered, so it's not like batteries would run out. I'm not sure there are really limits on the flight range of a pigeon. I have to assume they'd be allowed to eat.
How would they be controlled though?
I have no idea, controlling an animal's brain is obviously the hard part too believe. But I don't see how that affects their range. It's a bird, birds naturally migrate thousands of miles.
It would effect their range because they would either need heavy equipment, like a fuckin star link dish strapped to their backs, or heavy radio equipment of some kind or something. Even if the "brain chip" is microscopic, you still need it to be able to send and receive a signal I would think, unless they intend to just operate it when it happens to be near a WiFi signal or something I guess?
Or just preprogram the commands before installing and let it run autonomously.
according to Forbes Russia and a company statement
duh
edit: as for radio, if it's not required to be realtime it would make a lot of sense to carry sd cards instead, provides lower energy consumption too
You are putting a lot of faith in a people that can't even build a competent tank.
You do, of course, understand that this has nothing in common with building a tank?
You do also understand that (just guessing) if you're from a German instance, then probably everyone of consequence involved in designing military hardware in Russia has better knowledge of their domain area than people analogous to them from German MIC and military? Simply due to experience gained. That does apply to tanks.
Anyway. I don't know if it's real, but you just go and read whose company it is. It might be.
I know I'm just theorizing
If it's like the bug experiments, they aren't controlling its muscles granularly but guiding the whole critter through pain/aversion. Going left hurts, bird goes right type deal
Those guys at Birds Aren't Real are having a "told you so!" moment right now.
Birds Aren't Real Guy is probably getting a second pump-and-dump scam going right this very moment...
Came for this, left satisfied.
Stop these bots. Show me something concrete
The company plans to use the biodrones for extended monitoring of power transmission lines, gas distribution nodes and other infrastructure, as well as for environmental surveys, industrial inspections, search-and-rescue missions and additional security monitoring
Sure thing buddy. We all know what these are actually for you colossal piece of shit.
If it's actually true and not the usual Russian bullshit they can only back up with bots.
Then tomorrow they'll invent teleportation during lunch break. Russia is such an advanced state, and defintely not shithole running out a cash propaganda machine governed by a stupid afraid-of-death human stain
Ha ha, I can't believe anyone would still peddle this dumb propaganda nonsense :-) Come on OP, can we move on from that embarrassing con-job already ?
Upon reflection, I agree it is probably just propaganda. Should I leave the post up though?
The top comment here is making valid points casting doubt on its veracity. Isn't that a good thing?
Same company that did the Pythia rat experiment https://neiry.ru/analytica/tpost/p1o2t7kbt1-predstavlyaem-krisu-kotoraya-umnee-bolsh
From the article
The rat has already correctly answered hundreds of scientific questions - about quasars, myelin shells, Python and Albert Einstein's birthday. The experiment continues every day, the number of rats with a neural interface is also growing.
Pile it High and Deep PHD work.

No.
This will lead to unintended consequences of Russian citizens killing any bird they see, which will mirror the Chinese famine from years ago where they did the same, but that led to an increase of crop killing insects which led to widespread famine.
I bet Russians en masse are dumb enough to not know that infamous fact.
I would like to go back to the times when I could easily tell a joke from reality. To go, please.
Dudes' been playing Fallout show...
Bull - and what's more - shit
Russians? LOL. The best they can do is to fucking eat the poor little bird, as their economy is fucked and they are stupid enough to not understand why. Stop believing into miracles. Russia is a shit hole not much better to Nigeria. (Sorry Nigeria, I’m sure you’re much better than that, I just have no good example to compare to.)
It's quite dangerous to keep underestimating russia
My opinion is that they are overestimated.
That's a shitty opinion. Their budget deficit isn't even higher that EU average. They're currently producing more ammo than entire NATO combined, and by the each next month, they're bombing Ukraine more and more. Right now actually is probably the worst ever situation for Ukraine in the entire war
Why is it shitty? Ukraine is the only one country that actually fights Russia, with everyone else sitting there too terrified to even fart. Not enough ammo, not enough political pressure, if at all. No real sanctions on the shadow fleet.
Any chance you’re from Russia or working as a Russian propaganda mouthpiece? If not, and you’re from the west, I guess it’s time to stop fucking being afraid of your own shadow and do something.
It’s the worst ever situation for Ukraine, because these fuckers target civilians only, they’re unable to do a fucking thing on the front lines.
I’m from Ukraine, so you might stop fucking around persuading me of all the mighty and powerful great Russia. I’m sick and tired of the idiots of ‘don’t underestimate the Russia’ camp. I mean, I agree, as an enemy, it’s dangerous to see them as complete and absolute idiots. But apart from that, they are actually complete and absolute idiots.
For what’s it worth, now we know the American rich are actually even dumber than that, so easily captivated by the Russian honeypots. But again, that doesn’t make Russians all mighty and powerful. Ukraine struggles with this war because it gave up its nuclear status, for the illusion of security guarantees from Russia (LOL), and USians (LOL, who turned out to be straight enemies), and Britain (which helps, but there are buts about it). That war won’t even be started, have Ukraine its nuclear status.
But Russia did its homework well, by accumulating russofiles across the globe. So instead of topping them in the 90s, the idiots were so helpful to ‘save Russia.’
Honestly, I see no point in overestimating them either.
Any chance you’re from Russia or working as a Russian propaganda mouthpiece?
You don't know how much this question pisses off every easterner who has to deal with Russia and is tired of west constantly underestimating them. This is why we're in this whole mess. This is why Trump is US president and US is slowly collapsing. This is why your enemies like NK got better weapons. This is why you had way more problems in ME (Afghanistan, etc.) that what you should have. West is fucking afraid to touch BRICS because let's be honest, Russia/China duo could take on US and thanks to Russia, NATO is under the question of further existence.
I’m from Ukraine, so you might stop fucking around persuading me of all the mighty and powerful great Russia
Not you're not, otherwise you'd understand that saying these things essentially makes everyone else go "meh, why even help Ukraine if Russia is so weak, let's not spend to much money on it", so if you actually are in Ukraine, then you of all people should understand that what you're saying hurts Ukraine.
EDIT: Reminder that during cold war, Russia used a tactic to appear stronger than what they are. That clearly did not work out for them because everyone else started spending heavily to compete. For quite some time now, it is obvious that they're now doing the complete opposite.
Sorry, I’ve lost my capacity to discuss this further, for today. I’d try, but that’s the best I can do.
I gave your point a better thought, and I mostly agree. I should have formulated my reply better, perhaps, but I didn’t have much capacity for that either. I live in Ukraine, and I’ve spend the childhood mostly in Russia with relatives, so I know it first hand. You won’t persuade me they are strong. They are not. They are a paper tiger. I don’t believe they even have nukes (that work reliably).
The problem is, they are stronger than Ukraine. That’s why we need help with them, we won’t win alone. Russia’s allies aren’t pussies, while we have no allies, only partners. US switched from being a ‘won’t give more than the minimum’ partner to ‘capitulate, lol’ unreliable partner. They are closer to enemy now, and they’re owned by fucking russia. Russia is good at generating fiction, and I afraid people believe that fiction.
Have you even been to Russia? I didn’t understand, honestly, as I have an impression you say that Russia is strong and powerful. I don’t believe so. But that does not mean they are nothing to worry about.
Look, they send some soldiers to attack some positions on the front, they would more likely die, these poor souls. Yet, they can bring harm. They can kill someone’s on our side. They can ruin something. En masse, they achieve something, with a great price of about 1,000 personnel a day. They send missiles and drones, which are intercepted en masse. You cannot imagine how much better the air defence became over these years. I bet that’s one of the best air defences in the world right now. Yet, it’s impossible (or super difficult, at least) to intercept all the missiles. They still do harm. And what? Would you say something like ‘they target civilians with deadly drones daily, but hey! Ukraine is good at shooting them down, so I’m okay with Russia doing that!’ Those are two separate issues. We’re being good at protecting ourselves does not mean it’s okay to casually target civilians daily.
Right now, we have no electricity, heat, and some cities like Kyiv, there’s a catastrophe. That’s a combination of factors, including political, corruption, and of course Russians. They terrorise civilians all the fucking time, all the time, starting in 2014, not even 2022. Nobody gives a flying fuck about that. Imagine Ukraine targets Moscow and casually murdered some tens of people in some high storey building. The world would yell ‘how dare you’s. All that, it’s allowed for Russia, but others, they must play by the rules. It’s not even expected of Russia. The number of war crimes they commit daily is unimaginable. Nobody gives a fuck. It’s some kind of a show for an average westerner. I’m sure there are huge masses of people who’d sincerely ask whether we still have that war. Yeah, we do. Because they don’t help us as much as they could. The EU gives Russia more money than they give Ukraine.
We fight alone. Remember, a couple of years back, they were threatening everyone with everything, including nukes, if the EU or the US would dare to give us this, give us that. These partners of ours, they gave us some technologies, they gave us F16s, patriots. The Russians? Did nothing.
They are very good at lying, they create fiction and many buy that fiction. They are weak. They’d collapse within a year or two, if that’s not for China. They are anything, but strong. They are not even winning this war. The issue is, we fight alone, and we fight what others believed in being a second military in the world. Turned out, they are second army in not only Ukraine, but in Russia too. (Kursk offensive.)
They are weak, but it doesn’t mean we would automatically win without help and doing anything. We would not. But we fight alone. Nobody sent their troops to fight for Ukraine. China, North Korea, they did. The world? Does nothing. Business as usual, isn’t it?
Russia is showing the NATO is a hoax, and the EU and the US are not different to Russia, they are paper tigers too. And unfortunately they are successful at it, because the USians are dumb enough to elect someone who’s an enemy’s agent. The EU, I don’t know, it looks like they don’t quite understand they are next if were to lose. And the worst thing is, if Ukraine would lose, they’d fight for Russia against Europe, or just die, so … I don’t know what the EU thinks, they appear to not understand the situation, and are too afraid to actually act.
So my point is, fuck the US, I don’t believe they’d return to normality any time soon. Even if they would, they’re unreliable partner and you cannot trust them. They are falling into irrelevance, by their own stupidity. The EU though, they should find some nerve to actually do something and stop being terrified.
It’s not as simple as ‘Russia is strong, so let’s not provoke them’ or ‘Russia is weak, so let’s do nothing, Ukraine would deal with them without any help at all.’
Their might is rather irrelevant, I’d dare to say. It does not matter. You must answer yourself whether you’re okay to live in the world where Russia is a winner and is given everything they want. Or you want to live in the world where the aggression is persecuted and there’s rule of law.
If there’s rule of force, and you can do everything you want if you’re strong … well, I might die by that point, but it still be quite funny to see the US thinking they’re the strong ones, too big to fail and all that … it would be quite entertaining to observe their fall off their illusionary pedestal and thrown into irrelevance by some brute force autocracies that are actually stick to each other. Unfortunately, that’s a very depressing scenario for many of us who’d been relying on that unreliable partner.
USA?
What do you mean by USA question mark?
The fact you failed to grasp the remark only enforces the high probability that you're a murican.
It’s irrelevant and learning to write a couple of words is a nice skill.
Sorry Nigeria, I’m sure you’re much better than that, I just have no good example to compare to.
USA?
Not yet there, I think. It’s not that fast to fall from economy number one to irrelevant peripheral country. They’d get there quickly if they’d not change the track, but it would get them much more than a year. A decade or two is my guess. But I believe in Americans, they’d manage that idiot and his clique, I believe.
I hope you're right