Kissmyrobot

Luckily, my robot is safe. He was starting to get worried that he might be kidnapped by special agents and transformed into an immoral killing machine to be sent off to Afghanistan. He can relax, he’s not real. But he feels sorry for his fellow species who are being built to fight wars and will inevitably be placed in some awfully tricky situations.

The US has already deployed thousands of semi-autonomous robots to boost their strength on the ground in Iraq, and governments around the globe are forging ahead in developing robots capable of making crucial decisions like, Should I pull the trigger? Should I pull the trigger when my commanding officer orders me to shoot a wounded enemy? Should I pull the trigger when I know, or I’ve been programmed to know, that I shouldn’t?

Nobody wants our fellow citizens to die unnecessarily, and the politicians know this more than anyone, so reducing the number of casualties in war and conflict would be good all around. But my robot thinks we have to think very carefully about it. Is it ethical to send a force of robots against a civilian army? Does it matter? My robot thinks it does.

And where could it lead? Robot police, robot security guards, robot bodyguards… could they also be capable of pulling the trigger without a direct order? I can’t suppress the image of cylons patrolling a bleak New Caprica settlement.

I’ve also been politely reminded to read I, Robot. I’ve seen the film a while ago, but I’m sure the book offers much more. There’s always the frightening Blade Runner scenario. I have to read the book on which it’s based – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Shameful that I haven’t yet, I know.

I’m sure there are tons of ideas reflected in literature exploring where we could be headed. But do people know that we are nearly at the crossroads? Or do we still feel safe in our knowledge that as long as human lives are at stake, there’s a strong argument against military offensives?

They’re coming.

This week, the New York Times published an article “In the Future, Smart People Will Let Cars Take Control“, and I have to say, I don’t really believe it. I believe that cars will soon be able to drive themselves, but I don’t believe smart people will be the first to jump in.

“By around 2030, according to some believers in Moore’s Law, there will be computers more powerful thatn the human brain, leading to the emergence of superintelligent ‘post-humans’. If these being do appear, I have no doubt how they’ll get around. They’d never be stupid enough to get in a car driven by a member of Mr. Magoo’s species.”

Uhm… if I were the smartest being on the planet, I think I’d rather drive myself.