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* Posts by Robotexpert

3 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Apr 2008

Wunderkind starts robot-buster weapons firm

Robotexpert

reply to lewis' reply

You make a good point. Ben's press team did indeed ask my permission to use my quote. It does not mean that I endorse his products - naive as that may sound - I am taking every opportunity to raise public awareness of the issues. I am seeing more and more moves towards autonomous weaponry every day.

You also correctly point out a confusion that I introduced in my open letter about the word control. Let me try to clarify. When I say that I have no fear of robot overlords, I don't mean that I am not worried about "robots out of control". There are two different senses of control here. One is the direct remote control of robots and the other , which I intended, is control in the sense of being responsible for which robots are developed and deciding how the robots will be used.

All machines under our control can go out of control - they do not have to be smart to do so. I mean that they will not in themselves have any intent to do us harm - they are just machines whether autonomous or remote controlled.

The point that I keep banging on about and will keep banging on about until everyone is sick of it is that the planned development of autonomous weapons does not take into account the fact that none of the available methods of sensing equip a robot to distinguish between combatants and innocent civilians.

And Lewis, even though you do not appear agree with me, I am always glad to see you writing about it and providing the opportunity for a wider discussion.

May I point you and your other readers to the Armed Unmanned Systems Forum of AUVSI for further reading on the topic. http://www.unsysinst.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=89&sid=348e8c8baed97bae9f70451e90293223

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Robotexpert

Open Letter to Lewis Page

C'mon Lewis get your facts straight here. I don't mind all the stuff about media professor arm waving - that comes with the territory and it is fair game. But you have been writing about my efforts for long enough to know that I do not give support to war effort of any kind.

You quote me correctly: "This is the first real response that I have seen to the predicted rise in the use of autonomous military robots," said the arm-waving prof, quoted by Way. "It testifies to the dangerous slippery slope that we seem to be inevitably sliding down.

"Ben Way has certainly picked up on the magnitude of the impending threat ... I really hope that it does not come down to the use of these devices."

These quotes should be taken at face value - I mean only what I say there. The following paragraph of yours is hardly my style now is it?

"Speaking of Way's WAR Defence effort, the media'n'AI prof said that the planned virus plagues, pulse bombs and robot sniffers would surely come in handy when the machine praetorians of tomorrow's corrupt human polities inevitably turn on their jaded fleshy overlords."

Let me be clear that I have no fear of robot overlords taking over the world - that is fantasy. My fear is that the humans controlling the robots may not fully understand the consequences of their actions.

best wishes,

noel sharkey

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US war robots in Iraq 'turned guns' on fleshy comrades

Robotexpert
Pirate

Second Variety

We all wondered what had happen to the armed Talon SWORDs that went to Iraq last year. We still don't really know much other than they were pulled.

The Popular Mechanics artlcle only said:

Fahey’s answer was vague, but he confirmed that the robots never opened fire when they weren’t supposed to. His understanding is that “the gun started moving when it was not intended to move.”

This sounds like the kind of radio glitch that often happens at civilian battle robot competitions. I hope this gives some more warning of the dangers of going autonomous.

BTW: to be picky, there were no Swords or screamers in Philip K Dick's Second Variety - they only appeared in the movie. In the orignal story they were called CLAWS.

We probably wont have to wail long to see what the second variety of Foster-Miller's military robots will be.

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