Friday “Not” Funny: Stop Autonomous Weapons #bankillerrobots

Today’s “Off Topic” article for the Friday Funny spot is actually not that funny. It is very thought provoking and as a person who loves technology and the good things it can do, this scares me as it shows how technology can be used in ways that are not so good for humanity.

I mentor at the robotics club for the school that my sons attended and am a committee member for Robocup Junior Australia (WA). I love robots, but only when they help make our lives better.

Most of you have seen the future depicted in the Terminator movies, where an artificial intelligence known as Skynet decides that the human race is a threat and so works to remove it from the planet. While this is science fiction, it is rapidly getting closer to science fact.

Have a look at the following amazing work from Boston Dynamics.

What’s new, Atlas? (direct link)

The New SpotMini (direct link)

Many of the technologies already exist and we (the technology industry) need to have a serious think about what we should and should not do with what we are creating.

To fully understand what I am talking about, check out the video below:

Slaughterbots (direct link)

Now have a look at the website: http://autonomousweapons.org/

Please discuss your thoughts as comments below.

David

This article was originally posted on http://www.winthropdc.com/blog.