Taser Robot: 1st Terminator?
p2pnet news:- Isaac Asimov is probably turning over in his grave.
He’s famous for his I, Robot, science-fiction series, an integral component of which are his Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Now iRobot, which makes robot vacuum cleaners as well as other kinds of remote control systems, has come up with a robot that not only tackles “dull, dirty” tasks, but also “dangerous” ones.
Its tactical robots, used for civil and military “dangerous search, reconnaissance and bomb-disposal,” have been augmented by a unit armed with a taser.
The idea is to give soldiers and law enforcement officers a defensive, nonlethal tool, says the Los Angeles Times.
Tool?
But, “some observers fear that such developments could ultimately lead to robots capable of deciding on their own when to shoot and kill, says the story, quoting John Pike, director of a US military research organization, as saying:
“It’s one more step in that direction. It is not the first step in that direction, but I think at some point toward the end of the next decade, you’re going to start seeing RoboCops or a Terminator. We may see autonomous robots capable of inflicting lethal force.”
Also See:
Los Angeles Times – Taser-armed robots are in the works, July 2, 2005
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July 2nd, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Yes, they are building Skynet.
Even Google is building Skynet^H^H^H^H^H^H the world’s largest massively parallel supercomputer.
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/ThePerilsofJavaSchools.html
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Skynet is a UK military sat-alight system. take a look at the BBC.