Should we fear robots and those that are armed?
If you have been reading a bit of science-fiction centered around the robotic theme, you know that in most cases, there are problems. Robots or intelligent machines replace every man in their work, they become the masters of the human race and they start a bloody war against mankind. I perceived those readings as warning signs of a future that might come.
What is troubling me, is that, Noel Sharkey, a well-known actor in the robot scene and a professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at University of Sheffield, recently gave another warning concerning armed robots. According to him, the threat might not come from super-intelligent machines that will dominate us but from dumb robots without reason or conscience and a weapon in their hands or whatever they use to hold it.
The logic behind this is that robot components are becoming cheaper and more easily accessible by the day. You can find most of the required material on the amateur market.
Sharkey said a small GPS-guided drone with autopilot could be made for about 250 pounds ($490).
One does not need much creativity to think about militia groups, tyrants or any other groups with bad purposes setting up a small drone factory and building a robot army to be deployed on the enemy field. Cheap and easy to build army, what an attractive concept.
The US military is already investing billions in research and development for those unmanned strategic weapons. Some of these projects have seen their fruits deployed in Iraq. I think we might be entering a new age no one is going to like and I am grateful to prof Sharkey for his wake up call.
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