Can BattleField Robots Take The Place of Robots ?

Shyam

Shyam

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What will be the advantages of this ? And the disadvantages ? How Likely is it ?
Are robots militarily viable ? We already use unmanned aerial craft for reconnaissance and surgical strikes on the enemy like the Predator drones. The reason I raise this topic is the BBC article on this subject.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8495946.stm

Some of the controversies with battlefield robots may be this and also some pros.

But if automated systems are taking decisions, how can we be sure they are hitting the right targets and obeying the laws of war?
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You could train it all you want, give it all the ethical rules in the world. If the input to it isn't correct, it's no good whatsoever," he says. "Humans can be held accountable, machines can't."
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"Robots that are programmed properly are less likely to make errors and kill non-combatants, innocent people, because they're not emotional, they won't be afraid, act irresponsibly in some situations," says Robert Finkelstein.
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Not for a long time. Robots are good and accurate but right need the help of real people to operate correctly. As time goes on however they will eventually phase out humans and we'll either be in giant mech suits or on a different continent controlling robot units.

also by 2020 the US Army want to be fully digital from what i've been hearing
 
Are you suggesting we take old battlefield robots and give them menial jobs in times of peace? Sure having a killbot directing traffic might seem like a good idea at first, but I think things could go wrong.
 
I'm afraid of a Terminator scenario. :p
 
You know, somehow I don't like the idea of fully autonomous machines killing humans. There are too many ethical repercussions to that.
 
"The wars of the future will not be fought on the battlefield or at sea. They will be fought in space, or possibly on top of a very tall mountain. In either case, most of the actual fighting will be done by small robots. And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: To build and maintain those robots."
 
knut said:
"The wars of the future will not be fought on the battlefield or at sea. They will be fought in space, or possibly on top of a very tall mountain. In either case, most of the actual fighting will be done by small robots. And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: To build and maintain those robots."
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-The Simpsons, Season 8, Episode 178 "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson"
 
Just dont give the robots AI.

Otherwise we'll have an iRobot Terminator war.

If we do, it will be man's arrogance that fails us as a species.
 
No, impossible. No robot could ever go to war, it would violate The First Law.
 
Without reading anything about this except the subject I will say, Yes.

Predator drones and their equivalent are already commonplace on modern battlefields. They won't replace humans entirely, but human controlled counterparts will be more and more prevalent. I can see this happening with Tanks and other vehicles sooner, and a sort of hybrid style combat suit being the next step for the infantry movement. As long as warfare is urban, human-style movement will be needed... since you basically can't roll your robot tank through a town and say "ok no one will be in these buildings." From combat suits there may be some development in some sort of bipedal or equivilent locomotion device that is still human controlled, and can move through buildings without any human danger. I think that is the furthest off.

AI will happen, as it is being developed for supply lines. Basically you set a few heavy supply vehicles with a destination and they go there non-stop navigating the terrain without the need for defense escort or risk of losing life.

Just thought I'd share that for fun.
 
StarBob said:
Without reading anything about this except the subject I will say, Yes.

Predator drones and their equivalent are already commonplace on modern battlefields. They won't replace humans entirely, but human controlled counterparts will be more and more prevalent. I can see this happening with Tanks and other vehicles sooner, and a sort of hybrid style combat suit being the next step for the infantry movement. As long as warfare is urban, human-style movement will be needed... since you basically can't roll your robot tank through a town and say "ok no one will be in these buildings." From combat suits there may be some development in some sort of bipedal or equivilent locomotion device that is still human controlled, and can move through buildings without any human danger. I think that is the furthest off.

AI will happen, as it is being developed for supply lines. Basically you set a few heavy supply vehicles with a destination and they go there non-stop navigating the terrain without the need for defense escort or risk of losing life.

Just thought I'd share that for fun.
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SUBJECT READING FAIL!
 
Well the question is, can battlefield robots take the place of [presumably non-battlefield] robots.

The answer I think, is no. A predator drone would make a very poor sex-bot.
 
15357 said:
You know, somehow I don't like the idea of fully autonomous machines killing humans. There are too many ethical repercussions to that.
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Just to play devil's advocate: As opposed to fully autonomous humans killing humans? Is one really any better or safer than the other? I actually agree with your point. However, I don't think leaving the killing in the hands of human beings is any better. We've made a muck up of it so far at least.
 
I am currently doing some research in robotics, and I have seen quite a few military robots in action. Yes, military robots are viable in combat. The thing is, the military's use of "robotics" is quite different from the academic use. Military "robots" currently in use are in fact mostly tele-operated, and have no more intelligence than an R/C car. It is likely that in the near future most military robots will be tele-operated, and not autonomous. However, there are many research projects going on right now for fully autonomous robotic vehicles. Here at Carnegie Mellon, we are working on a robotic tank called Crusher that can autonomously navigate over arbitrary terrain without any input from an operator. In addition, the military's fighter and bomber drones are becoming more and more autonomous. The drones can even land on an aircraft carrier in pitch black darkness fully autonomously.

The main problem with autonomous robotics in the military is of course the danger of friendly and civilian fire.Modern artificial intelligence, computer vision, and machine learning technologies are not good enough to allow a robot to easily distinguish between friend and foe, or decide when to fire on its own. The accountability of engineers and programmers in the misbehavior of military robots is too high to allow such risk. Thus, military robots, even autonomous military robots, have mostly tele-operated firing systems.
 
Damn I read the title typo. I fail. Forgive me guys.
 
if you rape a robot is it considered rape??
 
Neutrino said:
Just to play devil's advocate: As opposed to fully autonomous humans killing humans? Is one really any better or safer than the other? I actually agree with your point. However, I don't think leaving the killing in the hands of human beings is any better. We've made a muck up of it so far at least.
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Also, psychologically speaking, it could prove to be a morale boost and a factor for increased manpower resources (ie, volunteers) for the enemy, as many people would feel the same as we do. Imagine a robot just killing through enemy infantry, with it's cold metallic eyes, forever calculating the murder of enemy forces by the most efficient way possible.

At the very least, the 'Kill' switch should be in the hands of a human being, one that is able to make an emotional and ethical judgment, fully aware of the repercussions of killing another person. That person can of course make mistakes, but at least we can court martial him.
 
Solaris said:
The answer I think, is no. A predator drone would make a very poor sex-bot.
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But with some clever use of duct tape and ping pong paddles attached to it's propeller you have a very excellent spanking bot, able to dish out spankings at over 9,000spm.
 
xcellerate said:
But with some clever use of duct tape and ping pong paddles attached to it's propeller you have a very excellent spanking bot, able to dish out spankings at over 9,000spm.
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Not gonna lie I lol'd.
 
Ravioli said:
If you force sex on a prostitute, is it considered rape, or shoplifting?
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In order for that to work, you prolly would need to get her consent (with promises of money) and then not pay her after.
 
So you did mean "Can Robots take the place of soldiers"? Like the BBC article? I think we all know that putting soldiers inside Robots has always been the more attractive proposition.
 
I'm sure we can find a use for war robots in peace-time.
Roxxxy_sex_robot.jpg
 
AJ Rimmer said:
No, impossible. No robot could ever go to war, it would violate The First Law.
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Unless it was necessitated by The Zeroth Law...


Also,
kupocake said:
So you did mean "Can Robots take the place of soldiers"? Like the BBC article? I think we all know that putting soldiers inside Robots has always been the more attractive proposition.
Click to expand...
VirusType2 said:
I'm sure we can find a use for war robots in peace-time.
Roxxxy_sex_robot.jpg
Click to expand...
A rather amusing combination of posts.
 
This has nothing to do with new bots in Bad Company 2 like I thought it was.
 
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