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This video was posted to HN a couple years ago. It's the first thing I think of whenever I watch one of these videos of new drone tech. https://www.youtube.com

This video was posted to HN a couple years ago. It's the first thing I think of whenever I watch one of these videos of new drone tech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CO6M2HsoIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CO6M2HsoIA https://autonomousweapons.org/ https://autonomousweapons.org/

narrator 5y ago
The thing those movies get wrong is the moments of suspense when the slaughterbot is chasing it's victim. They'll be dead before they even contemplate running.
- Aeolun 5y ago
  It’s not inconceivable that they’ll follow their victims for a bit to make sure that the face recognition doesn’t have a glitch. Apparently you can also recognize someone by the way they walk, so if you’ve recorded that before, getting them to run around for a bit provides an extra level of identification.
  - vitiral 5y ago
    Thank you for your comforting assurances.
    - pixxel 5y ago
      Simply pop a small pebble in your shoe to change your gait /s
  - vidarh 5y ago
    Unless, of course, you don't care about collateral damage, in which case you might well kill first, verify second.
    - Aeolun 5y ago
      Of course, but then you don’t use a stupid drone. You drop a hellfire missile from 10km up.
      - vidarh 5y ago
        If you're a nation state maybe. The question here is how far down the cost of drones like these will go, and how easy it will be to contain the technology.
outside1234 5y ago
Thank you for sharing - terrifying
giorgioz 5y ago
I remember the video with the swarm of tiny drones dropped from the airplane. It's very unrealistic in my opinion. 3 types of problems: 1) quadcopters battery is not great (yet) 2) AI is very specialized 3) You underestimate how fast and creative a human being is when survival is at stake. 1) quadcopters battery is not great (yet) Quadcopters must balance weight, energy and payload. Essentially drones don't fly very long and any payload you add will increase their weight and decrease their speed or flying time. In the video the tiny drones are released from an airplane. Already not sure if that would work, what about wind and altitude? The drones might spend a significant part of their battery just to reach the ground. They might be so light that a gentle breeze would swipe them hundreds of meters away. Even if battery will be better there will always be a constraint on what it's possible to do and how much it cost to build it. In the video the announcer says 25 million USD for enough drones to wipe a city. Let's say there are 5 million in the city and half is 2.5 million people. Your budget than is 10USD per drone. Clearly that budget is just too small. 2) AI is very specialized Just because an AI can beat the world champion at chess doesn't mean it can do anything else at all. Take the same AI and change the chess board size or another fixed parameter of chess. The AI will likely not work at all without being retrained while a human being will still manage to figure it out on the spot. 3) Underestimating humans Alright somehow the tiny drones with explosives reach the room. It's not like in nature we don't have insects and birds flying at us. People have reflexes to fly or fight. Most people would duck or protect their face with hands. If you think the drone will be too fast remember it's a 10USD drone dropped from an airplane. Frankly it's a miracle even if manages to land on the ground.
- WA 5y ago
  Dude, this is what could happen easily within 10 years. What is your point? That the video doesn't show the reality of 2021? How about you sign up for the "escape the AI slaughterbots challenge" in 2030. Win $10,000 if you survive the 1,000 Slaughterbots trying to kill you.
  - marvin 5y ago
    It’s naive to assume military research labs don’t have this in an advanced state of development right now, or even combat-ready weapons that just haven’t been used yet. I mean, it’s obviously possible. That means militaries have at the very least developed it to a proof of concept by now. This kind of tech often exists for many years before becoming publically known.

narrator 5y ago

The thing those movies get wrong is the moments of suspense when the slaughterbot is chasing it's victim. They'll be dead before they even contemplate running.

Aeolun 5y ago
It’s not inconceivable that they’ll follow their victims for a bit to make sure that the face recognition doesn’t have a glitch. Apparently you can also recognize someone by the way they walk, so if you’ve recorded that before, getting them to run around for a bit provides an extra level of identification.
- vitiral 5y ago
  Thank you for your comforting assurances.
  - pixxel 5y ago
    Simply pop a small pebble in your shoe to change your gait /s
- vidarh 5y ago
  Unless, of course, you don't care about collateral damage, in which case you might well kill first, verify second.
  - Aeolun 5y ago
    Of course, but then you don’t use a stupid drone. You drop a hellfire missile from 10km up.
    - vidarh 5y ago
      If you're a nation state maybe. The question here is how far down the cost of drones like these will go, and how easy it will be to contain the technology.

outside1234 5y ago

Thank you for sharing - terrifying

giorgioz 5y ago

I remember the video with the swarm of tiny drones dropped from the airplane. It's very unrealistic in my opinion. 3 types of problems: 1) quadcopters battery is not great (yet) 2) AI is very specialized 3) You underestimate how fast and creative a human being is when survival is at stake. 1) quadcopters battery is not great (yet) Quadcopters must balance weight, energy and payload. Essentially drones don't fly very long and any payload you add will increase their weight and decrease their speed or flying time. In the video the tiny drones are released from an airplane. Already not sure if that would work, what about wind and altitude? The drones might spend a significant part of their battery just to reach the ground. They might be so light that a gentle breeze would swipe them hundreds of meters away. Even if battery will be better there will always be a constraint on what it's possible to do and how much it cost to build it. In the video the announcer says 25 million USD for enough drones to wipe a city. Let's say there are 5 million in the city and half is 2.5 million people. Your budget than is 10USD per drone. Clearly that budget is just too small. 2) AI is very specialized Just because an AI can beat the world champion at chess doesn't mean it can do anything else at all. Take the same AI and change the chess board size or another fixed parameter of chess. The AI will likely not work at all without being retrained while a human being will still manage to figure it out on the spot. 3) Underestimating humans Alright somehow the tiny drones with explosives reach the room. It's not like in nature we don't have insects and birds flying at us. People have reflexes to fly or fight. Most people would duck or protect their face with hands. If you think the drone will be too fast remember it's a 10USD drone dropped from an airplane. Frankly it's a miracle even if manages to land on the ground.

WA 5y ago
Dude, this is what could happen easily within 10 years. What is your point? That the video doesn't show the reality of 2021? How about you sign up for the "escape the AI slaughterbots challenge" in 2030. Win $10,000 if you survive the 1,000 Slaughterbots trying to kill you.
- marvin 5y ago
  It’s naive to assume military research labs don’t have this in an advanced state of development right now, or even combat-ready weapons that just haven’t been used yet. I mean, it’s obviously possible. That means militaries have at the very least developed it to a proof of concept by now. This kind of tech often exists for many years before becoming publically known.