As Judah Friedlander himself teased on the Disrupt NY stage, today we present to the world: Judah Vs. The Machines.
Judah Vs. The Machines is an eight-episode web series that follows comedian Judah Friedlander as he takes on the world’s most sophisticated artificial intelligence systems to see who truly reigns supreme.
The series was produced by The Onion, in collaboration with TechCrunch, and is an excellent combination of informative content and hilarity.
You can check out all eight episodes below and enjoy a little binge view.
Episode 1: Judah Vs. Dog Breed Recognition Robot
Judah visits Facebook, an up-and-coming website. He learns how AI works on the platform and how difficult it is to translate emojis (emojii?). And he challenges its dog breed recognition software to see if man is still dog’s best friend.
Episode 2: Judah Vs. Art Robot
Judah meets Alex Reben, an artist and roboticist who has created a painting robot. He meets some of Alex’s weirder creations, such as a robot that intentionally harms humans. And he challenges the art-bot to an art-off in the final challenge.
Episode 3: Judah Vs. Soccer Playing Robots
Judah challenges RoboCanes, soccer playing robots from the University of Miami. He learns how well robots can work together and how bad they are at standing on two feet. And he challenges them to a match with the future of humanity on the line.
Episode 4: Judah Vs. Shopping App Thing
Judah meets Operator, an app that uses AI technology somehow. He pieces together some facts about the company, such as why their phone booths have no phones. And he acts as personal shopper in the challenge with Operator.
Episode 5: Judah Vs. Self-Driving Toy Cars
Judah challenges Anki, a self-driving toy car. He learns what it takes to be a robot and who to blame if things go wrong. And he faces the jeers of Anki’s creators in the final showdown.
Episode 6: Judah Vs. Hotel Delivery Robot
Judah meets Relay, a robot that delivers stuff to hotel rooms. He challenges this adorable robot to a game of customer satisfaction. And he answers the question: Can a man and a robot fall in love?
Episode 7: Judah Vs. Emotion-Identifying Robot
Judah visits Kairos, a company that creates AI to recognize human emotional states. He takes a grand tour of their one-room campus and faces off against their algorithms to see who can better detect emotions.
Episode 8: Judah Vs. Tedious-Tasks Robot
Judah meets BRETT, the Berkeley Robot for the Elimination of Tedious Tasks. He posits his own theory for what BRETT represents. And he challenges the robot to a toddler’s game in the thrilling conclusion.