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Yes. A recent one. Prior to 2003, people were less interested in non-sentient autonomous machines. Drones. As technology advances, autonomous machines may very

Yes. A recent one. Prior to 2003, people were less interested in non-sentient autonomous machines. Drones. As technology advances, autonomous machines may very likely grow beyond the definition/parlance of a "drone" (machinery designed and dedicated only to perform specific tasks) into more powerful forms of intelligence. At that point, such machinery graduates beyond the definition of an artifact (a possession held in the ownership of higher-order life), and one might speculate whether it represents a form of life unto itself, or where one might draw such a boundary. Either way, such sentient machinery (read: not drones) might not be bound by geological/astronomical timescales, outlasting its inventors possibly permanently, but still represents a component of the Fermi Paradox. If such things are possible, where are they?

wyager 10y ago
> Prior to 2003, people were less interested in non-sentient autonomous machines. Yeah, you're just making shit up. The first machine intelligence in pop culture can be found in https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.U.R https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.U.R. (the origin of the phrase "robot"). Non-sentient autonomous machines are even older. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem Sci-fi authors have been talking about modern-looking self-replicating machines for decades. Maybe you have some weird definition of a drone? Drones in common parlance have come to be associated with any robotic vehicle, and are used in technical parlance to refer to a huge variety of autonomous or semi-autonomous machines.
- gurneyHaleck 10y ago
  Oh really. Starting in the 1950's the United States Air Force used unmanned drones as target practice. They were just cheap remote control aircraft. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Firebee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Firebee Then comes The Global War on Terror, and suddenly drones find new uses. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_War_on_Terror https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_War_on_Terror In 2002 the first Hellfire missile is launched from a Predator drone. It doesn't kill Osama Bin Laden, and people raise eyebrows, but it's not a trend yet. It's a brand new thing to conduct hostilities like this. [2] [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anaconda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anaconda In 2003 Iraq gets invaded, and drones become way more interesting to everyone, everywhere, because now wars are being fought with them. [3] [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War The word "drone" has a specific meaning. They are a specific concept. I know what robots are. I know where the word came from, and when it was invented. Spare me. I continue to disagree with you. I am also done replying to you.
  - dang 10y ago
    We've banned this account for breaking the HN guidelines and ignoring our request to stop. Please don't create accounts to break the HN guidelines with. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

wyager 10y ago

> Prior to 2003, people were less interested in non-sentient autonomous machines. Yeah, you're just making shit up. The first machine intelligence in pop culture can be found in https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.U.R https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.U.R. (the origin of the phrase "robot"). Non-sentient autonomous machines are even older. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem Sci-fi authors have been talking about modern-looking self-replicating machines for decades. Maybe you have some weird definition of a drone? Drones in common parlance have come to be associated with any robotic vehicle, and are used in technical parlance to refer to a huge variety of autonomous or semi-autonomous machines.

gurneyHaleck 10y ago
Oh really. Starting in the 1950's the United States Air Force used unmanned drones as target practice. They were just cheap remote control aircraft. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Firebee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Firebee Then comes The Global War on Terror, and suddenly drones find new uses. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_War_on_Terror https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_War_on_Terror In 2002 the first Hellfire missile is launched from a Predator drone. It doesn't kill Osama Bin Laden, and people raise eyebrows, but it's not a trend yet. It's a brand new thing to conduct hostilities like this. [2] [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anaconda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anaconda In 2003 Iraq gets invaded, and drones become way more interesting to everyone, everywhere, because now wars are being fought with them. [3] [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War The word "drone" has a specific meaning. They are a specific concept. I know what robots are. I know where the word came from, and when it was invented. Spare me. I continue to disagree with you. I am also done replying to you.
- dang 10y ago
  We've banned this account for breaking the HN guidelines and ignoring our request to stop. Please don't create accounts to break the HN guidelines with. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html