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Pentagon To Send Robot Soldiers to Iraq
conJunk points out this AP story carried by Salon (also covered by various sources linked from Google News) "about the Pentagon's plan to send robot soldiers to Iraq in March or April. The program, Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems, uses Foster-Miller TALON robots, and is said to be "years ahead of the larger Future Combat System vehicles currently under development by big defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics Corp." If it's successful, maybe our men and women in uniform will have to team up with the United Auto Workers to fight the robo-threat to their jobs." Note that (whatever other considerations you might have about such deployment), the Rules of Robotics that some readers have linked to don't really apply to remote-controlled drones, which is what these are.
In all reality, no jokes, is this really the beginning of a real-world Skynet? What happens when they put hundreds of these things in control of a supercomputer? Not that it will become intellegent, but what if it sends an error and they all start turning 360 degrees around with their miniguns?
Wait a minute here, lemme get this straight. We have a redneck buffoon as our commander in chief, which means he's the one controlling the robots with guns!?
Excuse me while I scream in terror and flee to another galaxy.
...Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and you would not have been informed.
Let's just hope they don't find out about Asimov's laws... they would disobey orders to torture prisoners...
WARNING: highly sarcastic post.
"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
I'm sure he would if he were smart enough to locate it on a map.
Fucker'd probably blast south korea or something.
Alito: A vote for Alito is a punch in the eye to put that bitch back in her place!
It's like trusting a redneck buffoon with the presidency of the United States...oh wait...
This illustrates how good his pr people are. This guy is not a redneck, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he went to ivy league schools (not that he seems to have learned much from them). How many rednecks have a middle name like Walker ?.
oh, yeah. And machines can tell the difference between a suicide bomber and a legitimate voter.
No, it can't. And it won't be able to make the distinction when it matters. Not to be inflammitory, but are you an idiot?
Here's to finally giving Bush his exit strategy in November
Ha ha, loser. We do what the fuck we want and all you can do is bitch. Suck it up or you're next.
My initial reaction is that the Geneva Conventions will need to be re-evaluated in light of this technology, and I'd certainly think that the use of combat robots resulting in civilian deaths has to be some kind of war crime. Unfortunately, that would also make them pretty much useless for a situation like Iraq, where the civilians are so thoroughly mixed in with the "enemy".
I don't see any way to work around it. For example, let's say they define the rules of engagement such that the robot cannot use deadly force until it is attacked. In that case, the insurgents will either attack in a way so that it looks like civilians did it, or they will only attack after they are assure they have sufficient force to destroy the robot--at which point it will be too late for the robot to do anything.
Even worse, if the use of such robots becomes widespread, then ultimate victory will belong to the country with the manufacturing capacity. China.
Then consider the possibilities for hacking the robots, either on the battlefield or with secret back doors installed in advance... Madness. Sheer madness.
Then again, look at who's in charge of the Pentagon.
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
It's really sad when conservatives complain as if they are some kind of oppresed group. I bet you think you're a regular Nelson Mandela fighting to make sure that people don't need to see jokes that ridicule our fearless leader.
> If you think "terrorists" are a real danger to you, I'm afraid your mind has been polluted.
Ahh, yeah. You don't like my views, so my "mind has been polluted". How typical.
If you don't think terrorists are real danger - incliding to me personally - you're a dumb moron. Simple as that.
I *WAS* at WTC on 9/11. I felt the impact of the first plane while in North tower and watched the second one fly into the South tower right above my head. I'm sure you would just chalk it up to government propaganda if you were there. Too bad not all of the people killed that day were dumbasses like you who are not only too fucked up in the head to correctly percieve reality behind your ideological glasses, you also stop the rest of us from protecting ourselves from said reality.
> Don't forget, that you are bound to international laws as a country. Terrorists, and not in the kind they've been hyped by the US gov ("everyone who disagrees with our views") did not sign any treathy, or anything alike.
First off, terrorists have a very clear definition independent of US Govt. It's people who commit, attempt to commit, or threaten to commit acts of violnce against non-combatants for political aim.
Terrorism is a definition of actions and methods, NOT particulat political goals, views or affiliations.
Second, let me explain something very simple, which even a moron like you should get: if an entity (country, or terrorist organization) didn't sign a treaty, they are *not protected* by it, unless the treate explicitly includes non-signees. The only people US is legally obligated to treat according to Geneva Convention are the ones Geneva convention says are protected. The ones you try to apply the convention to aren't covered by it.
> You slightly suggest that you can ignore certain laws as long the -imagined- treath is big enough.
Learn to read. And turn off your paranoia.
I didn't *suggest* anything.
I simply stated the *fact* that Geneva convention only applies in certain situations. It was designed that way. If you don't like it, go take it up with whoever wrote it.
> The US has done some serious damage in the Gulf, the kiddies from then have grown old... You're just reaping the fruits, my friend. Known that the kiddies from today will grow old as well.
I wasn't living in the US during Gulf war.
So what actions of mine was I reaping on 9/11 when i lucked out by a couple of minutes from biting the dust for good?
"The right to figure things out for yourself is the only true freedom everyone shares. Go use it"-R.A.Heinlein