Thursday, April 25, 2013

"Killing Robots"


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/23/campaign_to_stop_killer_robots/
We all have seen the illusions and imagined future “killing robots”. It has been engrained in us to fear this new idea of invention in things such as movies, science-fiction books, and comics. IRobot, The Incredibles, and Matrix come to mind with examples of wear lethal technology has gone too far and had detrimental consequences. Were these movies just childish fear or are these realistic outcomes with the advancement of technology? My personal opinion is one that follows caution. Many human beings would agree now that if we could have put preventative measures and laws down preceding the creation of nuclear weapons, maybe these weapons of mass destruction would have never harmed humanity or earth. Is it possible that we could feel the same way about lethal robots years from now? With the artificial intelligence and advancement in computer processing, it seems more and more possible that a world like the one in The Matrix could come to be. As our technology increases and therefore increasing the capabilities of the machines we make, what keeps us from getting to a point where we could no longer control our creations? As the professor in the article, who is from Georgia Tech by the way, states, we can make sure that any weapons are correctly designed to be only used for their purpose under human control, but it is shown that as humans, we constantly desire more and more. By stopping the progression toward lethal weapons now, we may be saving humanity from a catastrophic collapse in the future. Though this prediction is radical, I’m sure 300 years ago, it would have been radical to think that we could make a bomb that could destroy half the earth. What would be different if we would have shut down the idea of nuclear weapons with policy before it reached a level of competition and curiousity? With our habit of testing the limits, I would not trust our power to make completely controllable robots capable of killing every human being on earth.

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