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Elon Musk Backs Call For A Global Ban On Killer Robots (cnn.com)
An anonymous reader quotes CNN:
Tesla boss Elon Musk is among a group of 116 founders of robotics and artificial intelligence companies who are calling on the United Nations to ban autonomous weapons. "Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare. Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend," the experts warn in an open letter released Monday...
"Unlike other potential manifestations of AI, which still remain in the realm of science fiction, autonomous weapons systems are on the cusp of development right now and have a very real potential to cause significant harm to innocent people along with global instability," said Ryan Gariepy, the founder of Clearpath Robotics and the first person to sign the letter. More than a dozen countries -- including the United States, China, Israel, South Korea, Russia and Britain -- are currently developing autonomous weapons systems, according to Human Rights Watch.
"Unlike other potential manifestations of AI, which still remain in the realm of science fiction, autonomous weapons systems are on the cusp of development right now and have a very real potential to cause significant harm to innocent people along with global instability," said Ryan Gariepy, the founder of Clearpath Robotics and the first person to sign the letter. More than a dozen countries -- including the United States, China, Israel, South Korea, Russia and Britain -- are currently developing autonomous weapons systems, according to Human Rights Watch.
Why don't you start with banning land mines first?
Land mine is the simplest "autonomous weapon" you can have, its definition is clear and well understood, it is already actively being used (much more than "on the cusp of development") and is causing harm on civilians.
We all know why -- the US won't stop using land mines while most other countries have already stopped.
So, instead of calling for a ban (on land mines) that might actually change something, Elon is calling for a ban (on some fantasy weapon) that is mere posturing and makes him feel good.
And of course we already knew that all countries, including the good old US of A, would continue the development of such weapons regardless of such a ban.
This is completely, absolutely and irrevocably a good idea.
Indeed. It is a great idea. The only drawback is that is is totally unworkable. There is no possible way to detect clandestine projects. Nuclear weapons require vastly more infrastructure, hard to obtain materials, and emit radiation. Yet they have still proliferated, and many secret projects went undetected for years. So how are we going to keep Kim Jong-un from developing software for kill bots?
They'll be made. They'll be deployed. They'll go wrong. They'll be refined and we'll be assured it will never happen again. It will.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
If it's as efficient as the rest of NKor industry, we should actually encourage them to do it.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
And the dystopian future was cemented in the last US election.
When Donald Trump was elected I had an eerie Back to the Future 2 moment - that sense of wrongness of being in an alternate universe that has gone wrong. Like when Biff made himself wealthy by changing the past so he dominated the present.
Another problem with trying to ban "killer robots" is that if the things can relatively easily be developed under the guise of being remotely operated, remotely operated systems can be converted to become autonomous. In the case of (supposedly manned) airplanes the development of the autonomous systems can be developed under the guise of simply being an autopilot akin to what all planes have had for decades already. So all in all the whole idea is kind of doomed from the get-go.
"Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
But that is not what this is about. It is extremely easy to plant land mines, yet we have a ban, telling everyone that it is not ok to do so. Just because it is war, doesn't mean should be fought without rules, and breaking rules subject you to trial for war crimes.
We do not allow for mines since they kill indiscriminately without human intervention. And why should allow "smart" weapons to be deployed. Sure, a human can be fooled, but then you have someone responsible to hold accountable. Who do you hold accountable when a smart machinegun mows down civilian refugees?
This ban must happen.
After a tornado or earthquake, people are sometimes trapped in collapesed buildings. So I invent a robot that can force its way through building walls, by shooting laser beams and by punching holes in the walls. That makes it easier for rescuers to get to victims, right? Therefore it's a peaceful robot, right?
What's to stop me from using this robot in a war, to get to enemy soldiers who are hiding in a bunker?
How do you define "killer robot"? Do you define it as a robot that can only be used to hurt people, not to help people? Just about every invention can be used both for helping and also for hurting people.
... given his company already built and sold a killer robot that drove a guy straight into a truck and decapitated him.
Sure it is bigger. We have an existential crisis going on that is threatening human civilization as a whole. The figurehead actor-in-chief denies it exist. Also, I wouldn't dismiss the fact that there is a narcissistic, egomaniac, lying and hypocritical buffoon at the head of the most important country in the world, controlling the most devastating nuclear arsenal in the world "irrelevant pap".
You could look at history and see how the bans on chemical weapons worked out. Yes, there are countries that violate the ban periodically, but the vast majority of countries have adhered to it. The end result has been a massive reduction in the number of deaths due to chemical warfare.
A ban doesn't have to completely eliminate something to be worthwhile.
Alt-right is no worse and no better than Antifa -- both are hate groups.
You cannot equate Nazis with Antifa. Nazis want to commit genocide against Jews. Antifa just want to stop being violated by nazis and cops, and are willing to fight for their rights.
Make no mistake, equating Nazis with Antifa is the action of a Nazi supporter.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Antifa just want to stop being violated by nazis and cops, and are willing to fight for their rights.
I missed where in the U.S. Constitution or the UN Declaration of Human Rights, it claimed that hitting someone with a bike lock because you didn't like what they had to say was considered a "right." And +5 insightful? WTF, Kosdot indeed.
I laughed at the weak who considered themselves good because they lacked claws.
Antifa = Communists, Nazis = National Socialists.
The best outcome for everyone is if they mutually-annihilate each other while we eat popcorn & make bets.
Of course, Antifa just keeps moving the goalposts on who is a Nazi (hint: to Antifa, a 'Nazi' is anyone who opposes their violence & thuggery for any reason).
The REAL Nazis are the Muslims in the ME (and those who are now taking over the EU/UK) who are the former allies of Nazi Germany in WW2 and have not changed their beliefs or goals that made them allies of Hitler since WW2, but you cowards won't confront *that* "inconvenient truth".
Wait who is being murdered in the streets and facing a credible threat of genocide?
By population there are enough white supremacists in this country to represent a single rain drop in a swimming pool. They are not important and they have no power. All the statistics show that if anything ethnic minorities have a less to fear as far as being killed by anyone in authority than whites.
So minorities being murdered in the streets is largely a thing being done at the hands of their brothers and sisters. The only genocide risk they face is one from marching themselves into planned parenthood murder mills.
Anfta isn't standing up for anyone ones rights, their grievances are as baseless as any of those offered up by the skinhead crowd. What Antifa is a bunch of violent thugs. Yes we should consider them to be the guys wearing masks and hitting people with bike locks, because those are the folks that identify as Antifa. I have never once heard anyone else say "I am Antifa" not even the types that turn up for "counter protests" in places like Cville.
Tolerance of intolerance is not tolerance. It is acceptance of abuse.
Possibly, but you don't tolerate intolerance by calling it out when you see it. You educate your children not think and behave that way. You pursue actual justice for real grievances in courts of law. You don't run around being violent yourself towards your fellow citizens, and you don't go destroying property and rioting.
I won't tolerate violent thugs like you. You better believe I'll lobby to classify Antifa as a domestic terror organization. I will turn people in to the police for wearing masks in public where its a crime. I'll support laws to keep your kind locked away behind bars where you belong.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html