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As soon as they make a usable remote control for that robot the US military is going to buy a bunch of them and attach machine guns and use them to shoot up "su
by yarcob 6y ago
As soon as they make a usable remote control for that robot the US military is going to buy a bunch of them and attach machine guns and use them to shoot up "suspected terrorists".
Looking at what the US military has been doing with drones, that scenario doesn't seem that far fetched.
- XorNot 6y agoConversely an army of non-sapient robots would have a lot more options for dealing with belligerents. A human has to fire back when threatened because they don't want to die. A robot can take the hit, and risk being destroyed, because we can build another one.
- eeZah7Ux 6y agoJudging by the use of drones for "extrajudicial" assassination, the narrative of robots as merciful weapons sounds dubious at best.
- XorNot 6y agoA drone at 2 miles up isn't arresting anyone.
- bradyd 6y agoPolice in the US have already used a robot to execute a suspect after a sniper killed 5 police officers. https://www.theverge.com/2016/7/8/12129348/dallas-shooting-bomb-robot https://www.theverge.com/2016/7/8/12129348/dallas-shooting-b...
- qayxc 6y ago> Looking at what the US military has been doing with drones, that scenario doesn't seem that far fetched. This scenario will remain science fiction until we invent a compact power source with an energy density (by both mass- and volume) matching fossil fuels. The military has no use for loud and cumbersome petrol-powered monstrosities like Big Dog (which is why the project was axed) or underpowered robots with an endurance that's measured in minutes (like Spot) in combat scenarios. Once such power source is available, though, the independence and versatility of a human in power armour would still be far superior to a remote controlled robot that can be hacked or have its comms jammed with COTS equipment...
- exikyut 6y agoWait, Spot's power source only lasts minutes? Ah, its battery runs for 90 minutes.
- qayxc 6y ago> Ah, its battery runs for 90 minutes. Yep, and that's best case, too (e.g. not running Lidar or complex processing for autonomous function at the same time). Minutes sounds a bit shorter than it is, but nevertheless anything with an endurance under 2 hours cannot run for hours pretty much by definition ;)
- jackhack 6y agoIt's about perspective. Imagine being pinned down by a squad of these things for "only" 60 minutes. Or being pursued through the forest or an urban environment. That 60 minutes would feel like a very long time. For a glimpse of this, check out the videogame Generation Zero (1980's Sweden overtaken by armed robots, including robot dogs).
- brlewis 6y agoThat would be terrifying, but a squad of trained humans is still more terrifying. If you're worried about what a military is going to do, robots are mostly a distraction.
- Notorious_BLT 6y agoGiven the success (inasmuch as one can call it that) they've had with drones, why bother with mounting a gun on a robot that can barely run for longer than an hour? Wouldn't a remotely-piloted/autonomous vehicle with guns mounted on it be much more efficient than a robot walking around on 2 legs? I guess I just struggle with understanding how this changes anything.
- tandr 6y agoWeight of what it can carry might be an important factor.