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Sounds to me like this is just signature strikes but replacing the analysts with AI. And to think many would cheer if it were being applied to ends they approv

Sounds to me like this is just signature strikes but replacing the analysts with AI. And to think many would cheer if it were being applied to ends they approve of (enforcing some petty domestic law with fines and bureaucrats instead of taking foreign soil with bombs and soldiers, or whatever).

pjc50 6mo ago
You can appeal a fine. You can't appeal a missile.
- falcor84 6mo ago
  Sorry for taking this on such a weird tangent, but I've been reading the Culture stories and my immediate thinking was - why not? Missiles fly for a relatively long time compared to human decision making, let alone compared to optimized AI agents. There's notechnical barrier to having the missile be controlled by a conversational AI to which the intended recipient could appeal, negotiating with it to change its course. I'm obviously not arguing that this is a good idea, but I wouldn't be that surprised if this is the future trajectory (sorry for the pun) of "smart weapons".
  - pjc50 6mo ago
    Well, as described in the article, the victim was given a sort of appeal by phone: he could make it easier for them to kill just him, rather than murdering his whole family as well.
  - DroneBetter 6mo ago
    this is basically the plot of the end of Dark Star (1975)
  - Tade0 6mo ago
    I think part of the effectiveness of such missiles comes from the fact that they're not expected then and there.
- cucumber3732842 6mo ago
  And you can get a fat payday in court years after the cops dogpile you for a dumb reason. Doesn't make it right. Doesn't bring back the time lost to injury. Doesn't bring back the things that money you pissed into legal fees could've been spent on. An appeals process isn't a magic uno reverse card that makes a morally reprehensible fact pattern ok. Capricious and/or vibe and/or "Signature based" (vibes with extra steps IMO) application of government violence is reprehensible regardless of the amount of violence applied. Trying to anchor the discussion around "whole lives" is just lying MBA accounting but for social issues. At the state level life, limb, quality of life and wealth (monetary or otherwise) are all subject to inter related tradeoffs and are somewhat fungible and convertible.

pjc50 6mo ago

You can appeal a fine. You can't appeal a missile.

falcor84 6mo ago
Sorry for taking this on such a weird tangent, but I've been reading the Culture stories and my immediate thinking was - why not? Missiles fly for a relatively long time compared to human decision making, let alone compared to optimized AI agents. There's notechnical barrier to having the missile be controlled by a conversational AI to which the intended recipient could appeal, negotiating with it to change its course. I'm obviously not arguing that this is a good idea, but I wouldn't be that surprised if this is the future trajectory (sorry for the pun) of "smart weapons".
- pjc50 6mo ago
  Well, as described in the article, the victim was given a sort of appeal by phone: he could make it easier for them to kill just him, rather than murdering his whole family as well.
- DroneBetter 6mo ago
  this is basically the plot of the end of Dark Star (1975)
- Tade0 6mo ago
  I think part of the effectiveness of such missiles comes from the fact that they're not expected then and there.
cucumber3732842 6mo ago
And you can get a fat payday in court years after the cops dogpile you for a dumb reason. Doesn't make it right. Doesn't bring back the time lost to injury. Doesn't bring back the things that money you pissed into legal fees could've been spent on. An appeals process isn't a magic uno reverse card that makes a morally reprehensible fact pattern ok. Capricious and/or vibe and/or "Signature based" (vibes with extra steps IMO) application of government violence is reprehensible regardless of the amount of violence applied. Trying to anchor the discussion around "whole lives" is just lying MBA accounting but for social issues. At the state level life, limb, quality of life and wealth (monetary or otherwise) are all subject to inter related tradeoffs and are somewhat fungible and convertible.