July 08, 2003
Robots for Good or ill?
Compare the attitude here:
Gladiator Robot Looks to Join Marine Corps
A new unmanned robot with lots of weapons will be used as soon as 2007 by the Marine Corps to control angry crowds, reports the Honolulu Advertiser from Camp Smith, Hawaii.
It looks like something out of Robocop, a mini tank-treaded terror bristling with so many cannon and guns that only a Hollywood screenwriter could have dreamed it up.
It's designed to be RoboMarine -- technically the Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle -- and proponents say it would have come in handy in trouble spots ranging from Somalia, Kosovo and Bosnia to Afghanistan and Iraq.
The 4-foot-tall, 1,600-pound concept vehicle recently was demonstrated at Camp Smith, launching dozens of smoke rounds downrange that could have been tear gas, or stingball and flashbang grenades.
With the attitude here:
I think Issac Asimov would be turning over in his grave.
Three Laws of Robotics:
A robot may not injure a human, or allow a human to be injured.
A robot must follow any order given by a human that doesn't conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect itself unless that would conflict with the First or Second Laws.