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Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
Recently, Russian arms manufacturer Kalashnikov Concern has unveiled their work on a fully automated combat machine. It looks like a drone, but the neural network that controls it allows for some autonomous ability, which is going to make for some very interesting conversation at the upcoming ARMY-2017 forum. Did somebody say war robots?
For that matter, now that neural networks are basically being weaponized, I'm sure there will be some important moral debates about their use in a field of battle. Not the least of which will be: "Isn't this exactly what Skynet wants?"
But, and we've said this many times before, technology is a tool.
It isn't inherently good or bad; that depends entirely on the intentions of the user. In this case, the technology is a weapon, but that is the purview of a military, and I think we can judge them according to their actions instead of their tech.
Plus, the robot is really freaking cool. We'd be doing it a disservice by ignoring that. Let's take a closer look.
We all know that drones are already used in combat, but this robot is no drone.
Drones require operators, and while modern drones do have elements that can acquire targets without human control, they aren't fully autonomous. By using a neural network to control the drone, full autonomy is possible.
So far, there's no word on whether the module will fire without human authorization. What information we do have suggests that the use of a neural network is intended to quickly acquire many targets–something well within the capabilities of modern AI technology.
Source: https://edgylabs.com/war-robots-automated-kalashnikov-neural-network-gun/
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 18 2017, @06:20PM (5 children)
This could change the equation for military coups. If you are a military dictator now, you have to keep the army on your side. In the future, you might buy a million killer drones and command them directly. The army can be disbanded.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 18 2017, @06:32PM
But military service is valuable make-work in the kinds of impoverished countries that have military dictators. If you're going to disband the army you'd better be ready to slaughter your former soldiers since otherwise they'll turn against you and smash your drones.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday July 18 2017, @06:36PM (2 children)
congratulations, you're now the dictator of a bunch of robots who have to keep a gun aimed at their own repairmen, and might murder you if some 12 year-old script kiddie figures out that someone forgot to patch some old bug at the factory.
I hope the Bond girl was worth it.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 18 2017, @06:59PM
I have to keep a gun aimed at the Bond girl while I rape her, and I don't trust her to blow me since she could bite my dick off. And there's the whole ordeal of searching her ass and pussy every time to make sure she hasn't hidden a knife anywhere.
Totally worth it to lose my virginity!
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Tuesday July 18 2017, @07:27PM
I'll take your Bond reference and raise you:
In United States, John Conner fights Skynet's Armageddon.
In Soviet Russia, Skynet welcomes our 12 year old script kiddie overlord in the war against the Formics.
Queue in the Terminator 2 theme \ The international Anthem \ Combat Rescue Aliens theme mash-up as brought to you by the producers of Iron Sky 2.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday July 18 2017, @08:26PM
Begun the drone wars have, already.
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