3.8M views · Apr 11, 2022 · 8:32 · 0 HN recommenders · 4 mentions · discussed 2023–2024
Tom Scott shows a robot double of himself, built from an Engineered Arts Mesmer robot, delivering a VPN advertisement in his place.
Why Hacker News points people here: Linked as an example of the honest, self-aware way Tom Scott treats VPN ads and their legitimate use cases.
Tom Scott's follow-up on legitimate VPN use cases
This reminds me of the 'original' 2019 video by Tom Scott called "This Video Is Sponsored By [redacted] VPN" where he explains most of the reasons listed to use VPN by ads is useless: * link And then a few years later with "My robot double sells out (so I don't have to)" he did a follow-up listing useful reasons (geo-based content, better prices on vacation sites, etc) which was sponsored by NordVPN: * this video
Tom Scott's follow-up on legitimate VPN use cases
> link This is Tom Scott's 'original' 2019 video called "This Video Is Sponsored By [redacted] VPN" where he explains most of the reasons listed to use VPN by ads is useless. However a few years later with "My robot double sells out (so I don't have to)" he did a follow-up listing useful reasons (geo-based content, better prices on vacation sites, etc) in which he was sponsored by NordVPN: * this video
Tom Scott's ad read with more honest VPN claims
> Given the amount of advertising for vpns you might think they are a scam. Tom Scott did a video in 2019 entitled "This Video Is Sponsored By [redacted] VPN" where he explains why a lot of the ad copy at that time was often misleading, and why he didn't take money from them: * link In 2022 he made video with an ad read from a VPN provider with more honest claims about their use cases: * this video
Maybe, but based on what I saw in my mother and grandmother in their old age, I think androids in general (not just Boston Dynamic) have a long way to go just on the "accidentally terrifying" front, let alone capabilities, for example this is the wrong side of uncanny valley for me: this video
