I am a bit excited for this, but also concerned. My standard group are all Robotics Engineers so given this is meant to be played today and with our knowledge it could be cool, but I am worried it will end up like this:

https://what-if.xkcd.com/5/

..or with everyone arguing that the scenario doesn't make sense. The other variants don't have this problem because they don't rely on today's technology like this does. There still could be cool scenarios involving classified military robots, but the information released so far doesn't look that way.

A Grey Goo is suggested which is plausible, but I'm just not sure how to make that into a game.

Just my 2c, hope I am wrong and the game is great.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, most of the scenario seem to imply that these robots are not hampered by the programming limitations mentioned.

If worse comes to worse, just ask them how the listed scenario could have come about and use that.

To me, any roleplaying game is a game in which my friends and I can enjoy many worlds that have a lot of internal consistencies (gravity marks which way is 'up' and which way is 'down', ripping a living creature's heart out is often a way to kill it, a 20th century car doesn't generally fly, etc.). However, to us they are also a very advanced way to let our imaginations run free. I have two doctors amongst my friends, both medical practitioners, and several other medically trained friends. When I use a game sysyem, and that system's rules say that pressing 'Gumpelkruid' to a character's wound heals half of the damage right then and there, they accept the fact that there is no such thing as 'Gumpelkruid', and no known herb, plant or other substance instantly heals half a wound that way in real life. They accept the fact that it is part of the fictional universe in which we play.

Over to the robotic engineers. If they start saying a robot wouldn't be able to do something because of its programming, switch off their real-world expectations. After all, we are then playing a game of make-believe, where unexpected circumstances probably changed that programming. The article given ( https://what-if.xkcd.com/5/ ) does show why I probably have very little to fear from my vacuum cleaner as it is now, but who knows what a fully awakened military exoskeleton coud do if some other awaked machine fitted it with machine guns and a way to activate, and reload, those weapons? Just play, and have fun. And let reality be damned to a certain degree.

We are talking about a game line where the dead walk, aliens fire ray guns, and gods send theit followers to smite the nonbelievers anyways.

They will probably be backed up by some type of skynet type AI.

I'm not sure we're even gonna run it with robots, just cars locking up, planes crashing, drones flying into stuff. Or just shift it 5 years into the future so we can self driving cars re-enacting Maximum Overdrive.

I have a slight problem with the robots actually:

With the previous 3 books I fealt that the threat could happen at any moment. And "machines rising up against mankind" fits that bill to. But we're still a long way of from a society with enough robots and working androids to make them a threat.

so now we have two options:

Have the robots invade from outer space or something but then it's to similar to alien invasion. Or we situate it several decades* into the future in a society akin to the movies AI, I robot and Bladerunner and then have the androids rebel. At witch point you might aswell play Interface zero...

* roleplaying yourself as an old guy/woman, might be darkly humorous.

Let the PC's characters win a trip to japan, and then have this thing wake up angry and ready to kill humans.

Just watch the old movie Maximum Overdrive, and as others have said turn off the logic centers of your brain. Then again, you could use that as motivation:

Pete: "That's impossible! An electric knife couldn't chase me like this!"

GM: "Normally you would be correct Pete, but do you really want to stop and question it?"

Pete: "Ummm, no, I'll figure it out later!"

So I wonder what the post apocalyptic scenarios will be like. Maybe human slaves forced to pump gass and repair machines for their mechanical masters.

And the obligatory resistance a la the terminator. Ooh that reminds me: there's this old RPG called Splicers wich is basically the Guyver vs Skynet.

I am a bit excited for this, but also concerned. My standard group are all Robotics Engineers so given this is meant to be played today and with our knowledge it could be cool, but I am worried it will end up like this:

No offense intended, but this sounds more like your problem than a problem with the game.

How do you friends handle a viewing of Terminator (one of the good ones?) That should give you an inkling of their willingness to suspend disbelief about what today's machines are really capable of.

I mean, at the end of the day, robot uprisings (with today's technology) are not, in fact, any more or less realistic than aliens, old gods and zombies. Hopefully your friends recognize that and can set aside what they know in favour of an entertaining story.

If you're still concerned, you could always have a little chat before you start. "OK guys, we're all robotic engineers here, so it goes without saying that there are going to be a few unrealistic assumptions being made in this game. Let's all just agree to have fun and not get caught up in how stupid it all is."