Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been traveling. Here's something that caught my eye and may be of interest to you. According to this report from BBC News, a leading academic is calling for an international debate on using robots in warfare. The report notes that the current state of artificial intelligence is not yet advanced enough for an autonomous warbot to be able to tell friend from foe or to determine the proper amount of force to use in any given situation. Although it's encouraging that the need for debate on this issue is being recognized, I suspect that the debate will be ongoing even as more advanced nearly-autonomous warbots are deployed in combat, and eventually the state of the debate will be overtaken by the state of the technology. After all, it's not like the U.S. or any other country will call a halt to the use of warbots until the academic community reaches a consensus on their proper use. For more on this subject, check out this h+ magazine interview with Dr. Ronald Arkin on the difficulties arising in teaching robots the rules of war.
Photo Credit: BBC News
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