Preface: My second diary.
nytimes.com has an incredibly interesting article on the future of warfare, and the role of the robot. One of the more interesting points:
The military plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in automated armed forces. The costs of that transformation will help drive the Defense Department's budget up almost 20 percent, from a requested $419.3 billion for next year to $502.3 billion in 2010, excluding the costs of war. The annual costs of buying new weapons is scheduled to rise 52 percent, from $78 billion to $118.6 billion.
I wonder if this was yet another part of the budget that was "convieniently" left out in order to reduce it enough to pander to the people?
As well, the article mentions that this idea isnt as far off as one might think:
By April, an armed version of the bomb-disposal robot will be in Baghdad, capable of firing 1,000 rounds a minute. Though controlled by a soldier with a laptop, the robot will be the first thinking machine of its kind to take up a front-line infantry position, ready to kill enemies
For starters, how in the world is it legal to let a robot kill anyone??
The lawyers tell me there are no prohibitions against robots making life-or-death decisions," said Mr. Johnson, who leads robotics efforts at the Joint Forces Command research center in Suffolk, Va
I wonder if these are the same lawyers that said it was okay to torture five people until they were dead?
Fortunately, the most obvious question of robot armies is being raised already, and I can only hope that this is constantly addressed:
The technology still runs ahead of robot rules of engagement. "There is a lag between technology and doctrine," said Mr. Finkelstein of Robotic Technology, who has been in the military robotics field for 28 years. "If you could invade other countries bloodlessly, would this lead to a greater temptation to invade?"
Im all for doing whatever is necessary to protect the homeland, protect American lives and protect our soldiers, but this is one of those moments where what
seems like a good idea might not actually be one. Havent we seen how this movie ends already?
