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It's getting scary. It's not that we're going to have robots going haywire and killing people on its own. It's that the elite crust of humanity is going to use

It's getting scary. It's not that we're going to have robots going haywire and killing people on its own. It's that the elite crust of humanity is going to use it againstt us. Think blackwater is bad now? How about when they're not even human beings? The thing keeping the elites in check for all of human history has been that they can't get too crazy or their own soldiers will mutiny. Hitler was a study in charismatic leadership. He was able to commit atrocities only because the german populace liked him so much. WHat attrocities will be possible when it is impossible for your soldiers to disobey?

thorax 19y ago
That's when the hackers here step in, right?
- sabat 19y ago
  As long as hacking without a license remains legal.
  - deleted 19y ago
    [deleted]
  - SwellJoe 19y ago
    Sense. Your comment makes none. Hackers (or crackers, if you prefer) don't wait for permission.
    - sabat 19y ago
      Direct object. Your sentences use it unconventionally. Anyway, I was being wry. You may not be waiting for permission, but it does matter if it's illegal. (Clarification: I use hacking in the same spirit as this site, meaning to code with a hobbyist's or experimenter's ethic. Not meaning the media obfuscation of the word.)
1gor 19y ago
What's scary is how much this comment reminds me of Reddit...
- nazgulnarsil 19y ago
  I understand, i'm usually against conspiracy theory bullshit myself. using robots on the battlefield is the only subject I get a little spooked over.
  - astine 19y ago
    Robots on the battlefield doesn't spook me at all. It seems to me to be an improvement over sending people to risk their lives.
    - SwellJoe 19y ago
      "It seems to me to be an improvement over sending people to risk their lives." So, who are the robots fighting then if not people? I'm just thinking what a frightening thing it would be for an empire builder like GWB to have a conscience-less army of mechanical killers. At least our armed forces generally want to avoid killing innocents. Big Dogs with M50 machine guns don't care about such fine distinctions. So, yes, it could be scary. Now, of course, as soon as these are available to the general public, I fully intend to exercise my second amendment right to own robotic death machines. That's in the constitution, right?
      - gills 19y ago
        Because maybe, just MAYBE, when we realize our robots are fighting their robots and it's really just an expensive video game, we'll quit fighting and actually sit down and talk. That is, if the robots don't join forces and turn on us first. oops..spelling edit.
        motley_fool 19y ago
        Nonsense. People don't sit down and talk when they have less to lose. They negotiate when they have more to lose. So what will actually happen is that these ultra-tech tools will just further shield voters from the nastiness of war, and allow their leaders to visit horror on those less technologically advanced. What I'd like to see happen is the creation of some kind of independent news agency that uses UAV and robot technologies to bring back uncensored, uninvited news back from warzones. Of course if this were truly effective, that news agency itself would become a target.
yummyfajitas 19y ago
>Think blackwater is bad now? How about when they're not even human beings? Then they run at a lower threat level. A humans's decision process: "Is that guy a suicide bomber? OMFG SHOOT!" A few minutes later: "Fuck sarge, I got scared. I screwed up big time." A robot's decision process: if uncertain_of_hostility(target): speaker.warning() #This robot only costs us $50,000. Hearts and minds, right? else: fire_warning_shot(target, bystanders) ## if fu_bar(target): #Don't delete or uncomment this line, or else bad things will happen.
nazgulnarsil 19y ago
many issues in the next few decades will involve technology outrunning our ability to make ethical choices about their uses. what will the ultimate effects be of crops with terminator genes be? what happens when biotech created in a lab winds up mutating out in the wild? human cloning and genetically tailored babies are great examples that are emerging right now. of these robots being used as somewhat intelligent disposable soldiers scares me the most because it is the easiest to abuse and the effects would be felt immediately. when it becomes a matter of pressing a button to suppress an uprising, who will decide when it is appropriate to press that button? remember that winners get called freedom fighters and losers get called terrorists. The USA wouldn't exist today if our "freedom fighters" hadn't resisted british rule.

thorax 19y ago

That's when the hackers here step in, right?

sabat 19y ago
As long as hacking without a license remains legal.
- deleted 19y ago
  [deleted]
- SwellJoe 19y ago
  Sense. Your comment makes none. Hackers (or crackers, if you prefer) don't wait for permission.
  - sabat 19y ago
    Direct object. Your sentences use it unconventionally. Anyway, I was being wry. You may not be waiting for permission, but it does matter if it's illegal. (Clarification: I use hacking in the same spirit as this site, meaning to code with a hobbyist's or experimenter's ethic. Not meaning the media obfuscation of the word.)

1gor 19y ago

What's scary is how much this comment reminds me of Reddit...

nazgulnarsil 19y ago
I understand, i'm usually against conspiracy theory bullshit myself. using robots on the battlefield is the only subject I get a little spooked over.
- astine 19y ago
  Robots on the battlefield doesn't spook me at all. It seems to me to be an improvement over sending people to risk their lives.
  - SwellJoe 19y ago
    "It seems to me to be an improvement over sending people to risk their lives." So, who are the robots fighting then if not people? I'm just thinking what a frightening thing it would be for an empire builder like GWB to have a conscience-less army of mechanical killers. At least our armed forces generally want to avoid killing innocents. Big Dogs with M50 machine guns don't care about such fine distinctions. So, yes, it could be scary. Now, of course, as soon as these are available to the general public, I fully intend to exercise my second amendment right to own robotic death machines. That's in the constitution, right?
    - gills 19y ago
      Because maybe, just MAYBE, when we realize our robots are fighting their robots and it's really just an expensive video game, we'll quit fighting and actually sit down and talk. That is, if the robots don't join forces and turn on us first. oops..spelling edit.
      - motley_fool 19y ago
        Nonsense. People don't sit down and talk when they have less to lose. They negotiate when they have more to lose. So what will actually happen is that these ultra-tech tools will just further shield voters from the nastiness of war, and allow their leaders to visit horror on those less technologically advanced. What I'd like to see happen is the creation of some kind of independent news agency that uses UAV and robot technologies to bring back uncensored, uninvited news back from warzones. Of course if this were truly effective, that news agency itself would become a target.

yummyfajitas 19y ago

>Think blackwater is bad now? How about when they're not even human beings? Then they run at a lower threat level. A humans's decision process: "Is that guy a suicide bomber? OMFG SHOOT!" A few minutes later: "Fuck sarge, I got scared. I screwed up big time." A robot's decision process: if uncertain_of_hostility(target): speaker.warning() #This robot only costs us $50,000. Hearts and minds, right? else: fire_warning_shot(target, bystanders) ## if fu_bar(target): #Don't delete or uncomment this line, or else bad things will happen.

nazgulnarsil 19y ago

many issues in the next few decades will involve technology outrunning our ability to make ethical choices about their uses. what will the ultimate effects be of crops with terminator genes be? what happens when biotech created in a lab winds up mutating out in the wild? human cloning and genetically tailored babies are great examples that are emerging right now. of these robots being used as somewhat intelligent disposable soldiers scares me the most because it is the easiest to abuse and the effects would be felt immediately. when it becomes a matter of pressing a button to suppress an uprising, who will decide when it is appropriate to press that button? remember that winners get called freedom fighters and losers get called terrorists. The USA wouldn't exist today if our "freedom fighters" hadn't resisted british rule.