The United States 🇺🇸 military is always in need of more killing machines. Usually this refers to humans willing to obey any order issued by the Brass (or the military leaders giving out the orders).
Image Credit & Explanation: A Ghost Robotics Vision 60 prototype walks with a security forces airman at a simulated austere base during the Advanced Battle Management System exercise, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Sept. 1, 2020. (Zachary Rufus/DoD photo), discovered via Military.com
However, that might be true as the United States Army wants to attach guns to a mechanical mutt in the future, a pending reality that does not vibe with the commercial robotics industry.
The Army is considering outfitting a “robot dog” unmanned robot with its new infantry rifle to “explore the realm of the possible” for future close combat, a service spokesman told Military.com.
Bhavanjot Singh, a senior scientific technical manager at the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), first mentioned potentially arming a Ghost Robotics-manufactured Vision 60 Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Q-UGV) with the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle during a late July reception with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., as Janes first reported earlier this month. […]
Half a dozen robotics companies, including leading firm Boston Dynamics, released a letter last October calling on global militaries to abstain from weaponizing their technology. “We believe that adding weapons to robots that are remotely or autonomously operated, widely available to the public, and capable of navigating to previously inaccessible locations where people live and work, raises new risks of harm and serious ethical issues,” the companies said. “Weaponized applications of these newly-capable robots will also harm public trust in the technology in ways that damage the tremendous benefits they will bring to society.”
Via Military.com, discovered by Futurism
Killer robots on the battlefield are already a reality thanks in part to air & sea drones, so having these deadly escorts also appear on land is only a matter of time.
What is worrisome is that killer robots could become the norm for waging mass war on the cheap, & nations who can not afford to buy or lack the ability to build a robot army could find themselves at the mercy of countries who can create these mechanical killer machines.
If the idea of a robot army approaching your location seems familiar, it is probably because this is a popular science fiction idea that was scarily fleshed out (pun not intended) in movies like Revolt.
Note: Here is a review of Revolt (a great movie) which I posted on @darnell
If killer land drones become the norm, we could begin seeing them used by terrorist organizations backed by hostile powers, as well as criminal organizations attempting to assassinate rivals or silence witnesses.
Simply creating laws governing robotic uses in civilian life will not be enough, as local authorities & the population will need the power to counter a rogue robot being used by lawless individuals.
Regarding combat, killer robots will probably replace humans in combat roles. Hopefully, humanity does not have to witness a merger between man & machine & end up in the reality depicted by the Japanese anime 86 (where humans are pitted against mechanical drones).
