Military 2.0: Should You Fear the Killer Robots?

[Demeter]

http://www.motherjones.com/interview/2009/01/should-you-fear-the-killer-robots.html


Peter W. Singer is not your typical "military expert." At 33 years old, he is the director of the Brookings Institution's 21st Century Defense Initiative and the youngest senior fellow in the think tank's 90-year history. In 2003, his book Corporate Warriors chronicled the rise of the privatized military industry; Children at War, released in 2005, examined the tragic phenomenon of child soldiers. He also served as the coordinator of President Barack Obama's defense policy task force during Obama's campaign—a role he took on after consulting for The West Wing.

In his new book, Wired for War, Singer takes an in-depth and at times frightening look at the growing use of robotics by the military—a development that he argues will be looked on as "something revolutionary in war, maybe even in human history." Recently, he spoke with Mother Jones about the unforeseen ripple effects of these new technologies, the folly of calls to use robots in Darfur, and whether we should ban these machines before it's too late.

Mother Jones: Was there anything in particular that surprised you or scared you as you researched the book?

Peter Singer: I think three parts were most surprising. One was the openness with which people talk about how science fiction influenced what the scientists build and what the military asked to be built. That's what drew me to research science fiction's influence on science reality. I was really driven by just how many people would describe some weapon or robot and say, "I was watching this Star Wars movie with my kids and I thought it would be cool if we could have something like that." And it'd be a Marine colonel saying that. There is also a great scene in the book where the folks at a human rights organization I was visiting are referencing Star Trek more than the Geneva Conventions.

[lapfog_1]

1. Duh...

One only has to look at the science fiction of the sixties and seventies to see much of our world today.

For example, John Brunner and his books like Shockwave Rider, The Sheep Look Up, and Stand on Zanzibar to see things like the internet, computer viruses, nanotechnology, etc.

Even a number of cultural references. My favorite is the "autoshout" feature of the modern commercials for broadcast. Definitely here today (and has been for some time).

But he wasn't the only one, there were many others as well.

[meow2u3]

2. Reminds me of Number 5 from "Short Circuit"

"Number 5 is alive"!