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Martins emotions pale compared to those of the innocent civilians that are no longer around. Personally I'm happy that there is at least some cost to this but

by 0x12 15y ago

Martins emotions pale compared to those of the innocent civilians that are no longer around. Personally I'm happy that there is at least some cost to this but I don't think the cost is quite high enough to prevent a runaway use of this horrible technology. If I were asked to help design/build such a system I would point blank refuse. I'm sure that some other person would step in to fill the vacancy with a smile on their face but I strongly believe that we all have a personal responsibility in what we help create and I don't see any of the users of these systems with the ability to create their own. It takes a lot of tech to launch a missile by remote control from a plane controlled from a large distance with any accuracy. The people that built this probably sleep just fine but imo they have blood on their hands. And don't give me that 'guns don't kill people' nonsense, if you make weapons for the military you carry your bit.

ericd 15y ago
Being a pascifist is a luxury that cannot necessarily be afforded by everyone. Competition is an inextricable part of life, and military force still trumps most other forms of competition as a last resort. The next disruption in military technology has arrived, and those that dominate this type of warfare will likely dominate future battles, just as the American air force has allowed the American military to dominate since WW2. I wish it weren't so, but having a strong military is still important, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. If you're not the strongest, and you're not friends with the strongest, you lose a lot of self determinism. So, it's important that we focus on making the best unmanned combat vehicles possible, if only to be able to maintain the luxury of pacifism, because people in other countries don't necessarily share your moral qualms.
- 0x12 15y ago
  I'm not a pacifist. You hit me I hit back. But I decide that on a case-by-case basis and to give others the ability to indiscriminately kill people that I have no beef with sounds like a very bad idea. Collateral damage is such a terrible term.
  - felipemnoa 15y ago
    Even pacifists will prepare for war to have peace.
mturmon 15y ago
I agree with the sentiment. I work on computer vision systems that have application to this area and there's a line beyond which I won't go. I'm not sure where it is exactly. For instance, there are researchers working on human detection for these systems, which can have applications in attacking and in avoiding; the tech is independent of intent. IMHO the discipline of robotics is facing some of the same agonizing choices that atomic physics faced in the 1930s-1960s. The moral dimension of their work took the physicists largely by surprise. It would be a naive roboticist who did not see the same questions coming this time.

by 0x12 15y ago

ericd 15y ago

Being a pascifist is a luxury that cannot necessarily be afforded by everyone. Competition is an inextricable part of life, and military force still trumps most other forms of competition as a last resort. The next disruption in military technology has arrived, and those that dominate this type of warfare will likely dominate future battles, just as the American air force has allowed the American military to dominate since WW2. I wish it weren't so, but having a strong military is still important, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. If you're not the strongest, and you're not friends with the strongest, you lose a lot of self determinism. So, it's important that we focus on making the best unmanned combat vehicles possible, if only to be able to maintain the luxury of pacifism, because people in other countries don't necessarily share your moral qualms.

0x12 15y ago
I'm not a pacifist. You hit me I hit back. But I decide that on a case-by-case basis and to give others the ability to indiscriminately kill people that I have no beef with sounds like a very bad idea. Collateral damage is such a terrible term.
- felipemnoa 15y ago
  Even pacifists will prepare for war to have peace.

mturmon 15y ago

I agree with the sentiment. I work on computer vision systems that have application to this area and there's a line beyond which I won't go. I'm not sure where it is exactly. For instance, there are researchers working on human detection for these systems, which can have applications in attacking and in avoiding; the tech is independent of intent. IMHO the discipline of robotics is facing some of the same agonizing choices that atomic physics faced in the 1930s-1960s. The moral dimension of their work took the physicists largely by surprise. It would be a naive roboticist who did not see the same questions coming this time.