Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> __/ [ Marshall ] on Tuesday 15 August 2006 13:47 \__
>
>> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>> Open source project adds "no military use" clause to the GPL
>>>
>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>> | That's intriguing enough, but the really interesting thing about GPU
>>> | is the license its developers have given it. They call it a "no
>>> | military use" modified version of the GNU General Public License
>>> | (GPL).
>>> `----
>>>
>>> http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/08/14/1438204
>>
>> I'm a practical person living in a world full of rogue predatory sharks
>> and what helps to keep those sharks at bay is my countries military whom
>> I trust. As much as I want to see OSS succeed, I will not for the
>> foreseeable future agree with the stance of those that fixate on a
>> unrealistic and badly timed ideal.
>>
>> I have not forgotten that the military is served by flesh and blood
>> people that have families that they want to go home to in one piece.
>> Everything that helps to that end is what I want them to have.
>
> I have always feared the day when robots (not necessary
> human lookalikes) will replace humans in the battelfield,
> but also kill people who run them (think Terminator and
> classical apocalypse films). If the robots are autonomous,
> there is also the possibility of accidents--robots running
> amuck shooting innocent bystanders. All in all, I hope some
> legistlation bans military robots, but temptation leaves
> little chance for this to ever become a reality. Think, for
> example, about nuclear treaties and the end of the cold war.
> Despite all, there are many countries that attempt to
> harness the power of the hydrogen bomb. And returning to the
> subject of fighting robots, I believe that the Japanese have
> done some work in the area and maybe have some protootypes.
> But I can't recall for sure... smart bombs are half-way the-
> re. And for those who can't afford /smart/ bombs, there is
> artificial intellgence -- a suicide bomber with a 'trigger'.
It isn't That sort of robot that your link showed.
These robots go to places where to save the lives of allied soldiers. The
onboard intelligence is to do with terrain traversing. Then they is a
camera that shows the operator the bomb or target area, some can detect gas
too. Then some tools, including the plunger which is used to trigger the
booby trap bombs. These are all remotely controlled by an operator.
If the a bomb goes off all we lose is a pile of tin instead of a man.
A great deal of artificial intelligence is involved just getting the vehicle
to the target, to distinguish between friend and foe enough to shoot
someone would take a few mainframes worth of processing power. The operator
can do it though, in which case the robot is a sort of remote control
rifle. No real difference between that and shooting them with a hand held
pistol, except that our soldier is in less danger this way.
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