“When a robot dies,
you don’t have to write a letter to its mother” – this is the silver lining of
losing a robot soldier according to a military chief. I think many would agree
with this sentiment. One of the biggest upsides of war robots is that they aren’t
human. This means that when they “die”, nobody grieves. But it also means a lot
more than that. These robotic fighters also lack many of the limitations human
soldiers contend with. As outlined in Singer’s book, some land robots can
maintain a 4-minute mile pace for hours, they can travel underwater, “see”
through smog and take several rounds un-phased. They also have perfect
accuracy; SWORDS do not miss its target. Additionally, drones can fly for
24-hour stints and collect an incredible amount of data all without risking
human life. These machines also lack human emotion. They act as “rescuers that
are unaffected by the carnage, dust and smoke that envelop the remains…they are
immune to the fatigue and heartbreak that hangs in the air”. Immune to pain,
fatigue and emotion with incredible speed and strength, robots seem to be the
logical if not inevitable next step in warfare. However, all of the previously
described attributes, while exciting on the one hand, are equally terrifying.
Consider I, Robot, the book from which the robotics company took its
name. It is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong if and when robots begin to
act of their own accord and violate the 3 laws, the primary law being that
robots cannot harm a human. No such laws exist in our world and yet we are
hurtling toward a future filled with robotics. I’m not suggesting that your
Roomba is about to turn on you, but to say that robots which are ‘wired for
war’ might harm humans is not a prediction but a fact. In addition to killing enemy
soldiers, robots such as the CRAM have accidentally fired on U.S. troops. Of
course, it could be argued that friendly fire is less likely with robots than
with humans. Nonetheless, we are heading down a slippery slope. As Singer
argues in the author’s note, war is inherently emotional. It is a major
component of the human experience and the inspiration for masterful works of
art and literature. So what happens when we remove the human element from a
historically human experience? As Singer explains, the rate at which robots are
entering the battlefield is increasing rapidly. From having zero robots/drones
at the beginning of the Iraq war we have gone to thousands. How many is too
many and what ramifications will this gigantic shift in the way we do war have
on the world?
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but world War IV will be fought with sticks and stones". These quote by Albert Einstein represents the fear that at least i have if another world war would start, just imagine Robots + Nuclear Power = Massive Destruction.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Rayna on her post, until what point can we trust on these technologies, have not we learn throughout this course, that Humans tend to blame technology for their faults? So if a war starts would we blame it on robots? or drones? Until what point it is war without the human component, with no emotions?
I Also agree with Rayna on the conception that sometimes inventions exceed our expectations, what is robots develop their on conscience and start behaving in a different way as they were programmed? What if they have access to arms of mass destructions, that would mean that humanity is doomed?
I am to skeptical about robots being used for military, I support robots for other areas including medicine and other labours but military requieres a certain "thing", that only Humans have, i am still not sure what it is but i think that if robots would start settling our disputes they would actually run for a longer time and they would do even more harm to society.
Whatever may be the case, the technology that we will spit-out will not be only local to the battlefields. As we have seen in the past, technology used in wars soon end up in the civilian world. From World War 2 evolved the world’s first passenger aircrafts and blueprints for the NASA’s space shuttles. Similarly, I can imagine brainwave operated (Hipatic) robots winding up in our hands. Suddenly, the future presented by Jonathan Mostow’s Surrogate doesn’t seem farfetched.
ReplyDeleteA revolution in war, bigger than the invention of the atomic bomb, unmanned system revolutionizes not only the "how" of war-fighting, but also "who" of fighting. Robots certainly will change the experience of the warrior and even the very identity of the warrior. Whether it is PackBot, Talon, SWORDS, Predator, or Global Hawk, they simply are series of zeroes and ones. They are emotionless machines. With a boom deploying robots like SWORDS during the war, with the openness of access robotic soldiers, what will be the future danger that we might face? Will superpower countries use robotic to suppress technological undeveloped countries? Will there be an increase in war expansion of terrorism? Creative invention is not used for destruction. I appreciate the use of PackBot which saves EOD team members, but I oppose deploying machines in wars that shooting enemies.
ReplyDeleteI'll inject a personal story about a solider who served under my nephew Jim, on Jim's first combat deployment. He's had two more since and seen extensive combat on the Afghan/Pakistan frontier (he was a Ranger for a decade, doing classified ops, before he became an officer). He only tells a few stories.
ReplyDeleteHe speaks fondly of "Doc" Robinson, a medic in Jim's unit, who died saving others. Shortly after Jim left Iraq, Doc entered a burning Bradley Fighting Vehicle to get three soldiers out. They, and Doc, were horribly burned and returned to Fort Hood's burn ward in Texas. They all died there and our family and friends did what we could for the widows.
I do not know how a human could endure the pain and horror of entering a burning vehicle while under fire, nor the heroism that spurred Doc to save lives under such circumstances. I do wish Doc had a robot on the scene, to pull the men out, so Doc could treat them before they were transported.
That's a different mission from CRAM or SWORDS, but it raises a question: if modern warfare is fought by the split-second, can humans react fast enough to take lives or save them? Fighter aircraft will probably be the first to go fully autonomous, given the pace of air-to-air combat, where humans are the weakest link in the system. That gives me pause, but so does Doc's death.
My fear is that we'll have both robotic helpers and warriors on both sides soon. Singer's book puts us in the world of runaway technological change, doesn't it? While we text and play games online...the world changes around us.