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Terminator teddy by Asa Butcher 2007-06-11 09:42:18 |
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While browsing through the BBC website I spotted a story entitled "US designs a 'robo-bear' to rescue injured soldiers" and immediately had to read it – well, wouldn’t you? It appears that the US military is developing a robot with a teddy bear-style head to help carry injured soldiers away from the battlefield. According to the article, "The Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR) can scoop up even the heaviest of casualties and transport them over long distances over rough terrain."
The first thing that came to mind was Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator and how disastrous that invention was for mankind. Didn't we learn anything from the fictitious Skynet? It appears the answer is a no because it takes no great leap of the imagination to go from a BEAR retrieving the wounded to creating wounded. Change a few screws and bolts here and there, duct tape on a few M16 machine guns and, faster than MacGyver can sneeze, you have a Terminator with a friendly teddy face.
Naturally the BEAR is controlled remotely and uses cameras and microphones to provide the operator with eyes and ears on the battlefield. How hard would it be to add laser-guided sights to this gentle robot and send it behind enemy lines to bring warm greetings from the US military? Even in the article, in the very last line, Vecna Technologies, which is developing the robot for the US Army, stated that they are also working on other potential applications for the robot technology, including helping move heavy patients in hospital.
Hmmm. Do you think that these new robots will be equipped with the Robot Ethics Charter that will cover standards for users and manufacturers, which is set to be released later this year? The code is to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa, but we have all seen countless movies where this is never enough. You may claim that Hollywood is merely fiction, but may I remind you of a quote from the author Tom Clancy: "The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense."
How long ago would you have scoffed at this idea of robots being used in the battlefield as far-fetched fiction? Five years, maybe ten, could be a little more, but here we are on the verge of a robotic breakthrough that could change war forever, whether it is collecting casualties or mocking the first of Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics: "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."
The idea of robots in battle really has a disturbing feel to it and this is why it has been such a key element in science fiction for decades, but now fiction is set to become reality again. Is the planet ready for circuitry marching relentlessly across the enemy front lines and are the enemy ready for circuitry to be marching towards them shouting, "Hasta la vista, baby!"
Asa_Butcher Ovi_magazine Ovi-lehti |
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