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Battle Roomba Tractor

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the is-this-anime dept.

jazzstep writes "This article on MSNBC introduces an interesting new duo on the robotics front. iRobot and John Deere have teamed up to create a new battle-ready robot for the Pentagon."

9 of 210 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe it's just me... by zanidor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Does the idea of putting artifical intelligence into a killing machine make anyone else a little nervous?

    1. Re:Maybe it's just me... by JeanBaptiste · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Does the idea of putting artifical intelligence into a killing machine make anyone else a little nervous?"

      Well it would have made me nervous..... back in 1974.

      I think such things are reasonably commonplace today, the level of automation on a modern warship such as an Aegis cruiser could easily be called AI. Same with Tomahawk missiles, Apache helicopters, unmanned recon planes...

    2. Re:Maybe it's just me... by zanidor · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What I mean when I say that AI in a killing machine makes me nervous is that the idea of relegating the task of taking human life to a _machine_ seems like a bad idea. One reason it seems like a bad idea is that they could flip out and start killing everyone in some sort of sci-fi horror scenario. But, like you said, AI nowadays is probably fairly safe. What bothers me more is that there are so many _humanistic_ considerations that go into taking life. If we eventually reduce killing to a cold-blooded machine process, it just makes it easier to do. Think of how easy it will become for the United States to start a war when the soldiers don't feel so bad about wiping out any number of people. Maybe killing someone is emotionally difficult for a reason... Like I said, maybe it's just me.

    3. Re:Maybe it's just me... by Pxtl · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, imho the problem with armed ACV's is that its putting all your eggs into one point of failure, the remote control system. If the entire command structure is gone, a soldier still has his wits to tell him what to do, or what not to do. If the automated command system has been eletronically compromised, suddenly you have a whole bunch of new charlies on your hands. The saving grace is that the maximum damage is equal to the maximum sortie deployment at one time - you can only hack that which is live. With missiles, this is minimal - missiles aren't in flight for very long (and besides, many can't do a 180 and attack home base anyways once underway). Ditto ACV bombers, but less so - they're in flight a little longer. But what happens when we've a 4000-head AVC minitank platoon?

    4. Re:Maybe it's just me... by danila · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The question is not whether AI can accidentally kill good guys, it's whether it can do it less often than a comparable human-based system. My guess would be that existing computer-based systems are generally safer or they wouldn't have been deployed.

      --
      Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
  2. Re:Great for them by Leebert · · Score: 5, Insightful

    /me decides to wait for robotic appliances not produced by a company making military gear.

    Great idea.

    Don't forget to not use GPS.
    Oh, and don't forget that you can't get on a plane manufactured by Boeing. Or any airplane manufacturer...
    Or buy a Jeep (or any car, for that matter)...
    Or buy office furniture of any type (or even shop at Staples, Office Depot, etc.)...
    Or buy a computer from Dell, IBM, HP...

    Because Lord knows we can't support the evil corporations who sell things to willing customers with lots of money. How dare they!

  3. Re:Picture a porch in country by untaken_name · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You are relying upon an incorrect assumption: that world hunger is due mostly to a shortage of food. yes, technically hunger *is* a 'shortage of food', but what I mean is that there is food enough to feed people, but it just isn't going to those people. In many cases, such as in Swaziland, local authorities refuse to distribute food that is sitting in warehouses locally. Thus the food rots, and the people die. Not because there was no food, and not even because there was no food near them, but because people in power refused to distribute food to them. No matter how much food is produced worldwide, if it is not getting into people's bellies, it's not helping.

    --
    http://xkcd.com/386/
  4. Asimov was part of the Satanic Jewish conspiracy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
    The three laws are a thinly-veiled attack on the Ten Commandmants.

    He's saying, three immutable laws for Robots doesn't work, why should Man limit himself by the ten laws given to him by God?

  5. Re:Forgeting something... by d34thm0nk3y · · Score: 2, Insightful

    the folly of depending on something as simplistic as the three laws.

    I always interpreted it as a commentary on another 10 laws that we hear so often about....