newprotest.org: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINES

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINES

July 18, 2007
by: jovial_cynic
I was on a forum yesterday, and one of the threads was on the constitutional right to bear arms, and how the point of that right was for individuals to protect themselves from oppressive governments - something that the fight for independence was hinged upon. The focus of the discussion was about 2007, and the rise of autonomous machines that are used for police and military actions, and the technologies needed today to make good on the right for citizens to defend themselves against those machines.



While the discussion was amusing, a link to an article on the very topic made me realize that today, in the year 2007, people are actually talking about how to protect ourselves... against ROBOTS.

ROBOTS.

From the article:

A MOVE to arm police robots with stun guns has been condemned by weapons researchers.

On 28 June, Taser International of Arizona announced plans to equip robots with stun guns. The US military already uses PackBot, made by iRobot of Massachusetts, to carry lethal weapons, but the new stun-capable robots could be used against civilians.

"The victim would have to receive shocks for longer, or repeatedly, to give police time to reach the scene and restrain them, which carries greater risk to their health," warns non-lethal weapons researcher Neil Davison, of the University of Bradford, UK.

"If someone is severely punished by an autonomous robot, who are you going to take to a tribunal?" asks Steve Wright, a security expert at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK.


Not 10 years ago, this was the stuff of science fiction. Today... it's becoming the topic of research papers among academics and security experts.

Why couldn't we have flying cars instead? I wanted the future to be filled with flying cars and replicators and space travel. I don't want attack robots everywhere.

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