However, as the lunch went on, the conversation got a little more … heated. The two began to argue over what kind of impact, exactly, robots would have on society in the coming years.

As you can tell, Bryan and Matt are huge geeks.

Bryan pointed out that Marshall Brain made some very compelling arguments that in the near future (2015 to be exact) that robots would have a profound impact on our society – with much of it being bad.

The argument is basically that robots will be the new Mexico/China of manufacturing. Robots are much cheaper than people over the long-term and can be much more accurate since repetitive work, in particular, is not a problem. Plus, robots can build other robots, making them even cheaper.

Bryan agrees with Marshall Brain – that this will happen and happen soon. Matt disagreed. He also disagreed that the impacts would be as bad as claimed by Bryan and Marshall. And so the debate raged over Flint Coneys and fries.

In the end it was decided that they would have a bet. A bet with clear terms. If, by the end of 2015, all of this comes to pass than Bryan wins. Otherwise Matt wins. The stakes are high.

They bet a dollar.

So, with the bet sealed on a napkin, Matt and Bryan continued the debate in person and in e-mail. Then they both decided to start a site. A site that would show advancements in robot technology and that would give evidence that we are heading toward a robot takeover in 2015.

Matt wasn’t sure there would be much. He has to admit – there is a lot. He might lose that dollar.

The Terms:

* Robotics in the workforce being among the primary issues in the house
* Planes will start to be flown completely remotely and unmanned
* Unemployment will be at least 30% – 50% of all minimum wage jobs will be replaced by robots