06 February 2009

Killer Robots Change Face of Future War


We are entering the age of military robots, where killer robots become ever more lethal as they inch toward autonomy.
Attack drones and bomb-handling robots are already common in battle zones.

Robots not only have no compassion or mercy, they insulate living soldiers from horrors that humans might be moved to avoid.

"The United States is ahead in military robots, but in technology there is no such thing as a permanent advantage," Singer said. "You have Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran working on military robots."

There is a "disturbing" cross between robotics and terrorism, according to Singer, who told of a website that lets visitors detonate improvised explosive devices from home computers.

"You don't have to convince robots they are going to get 72 virgins when they die to get them to blow themselves up," Singer said. _France24
The US has a head start in the use of robots by land, sea, air, and space -- but Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, and soon North Korea will have their own killer bots. Perhaps even equipped with nuclear warheads. To each of those tyrannous regimes, North America and Europe represent obstacles to the goal of conquering the world. Better to use robots to clear out the populations, so that your own people can move in and settle the land.

So why hasn't the US done this with Mexico, to make room for southward expansion in the face of the coming Ice Age? The US has not thought in terms of expansion for many decades. But the US is changing, and new imperatives may arise in the face of a changing global economy and demographics. The next violent cross-border incursion by Mexican military forces may trigger something big -- something robotic? Who knows?

Big, destructive robots may not be the biggest threat. Tiny, nano-robots, that can be targeted like the hunter-killers of Dune -- but are too small to be seen -- are soon to arrive on the scene. Carrying a tiny dose of highly lethal toxin or microbe, such nano-assassins would be virtually unstoppable. I can think of several other ways -- easy ways -- that invisible nano-machines could kill. Better not to say more.

Nanotech plus biotech plus infotech will make for potent changes in military strategy and tactics. But robotech will be quite enough, for now. Although now I must go, in the name of the baroque bloggers association, let me say, I'll be Bach!

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2 Comments:

Blogger Snake Oil Baron said...

I trust American robots over Russian and North Korean ones. The Chinese ones will probably have too many hazardous chemicals in their composition to actually transport and use militarily (Aqua Dots meet Aqua Bots).

Japan will probably make the best killer bots but Obama would have to work very hard to get America so poor that it could not afford to buy more of them than Russia and the rest.

Bring on the age of the kill-bots. I have my sharpened sticks and Super Soaker ready.

Friday, 06 February, 2009  
Blogger al fin said...

Japan will design and develop the best killer bots, but will outsource the actual construction to China.

Russian robots will not work, and North Korean robots will be starved for electrical power by Dear Leader or his successor.

Aerial robots can be transported in a small container and launched from any open field. Easy to ship, easy to fly remotely. Pack one with explosives and long-lived radioactive isotopes and crash it into the US Capitol Building.

The seat of government in the US would be unusable and not inhabitable for many years.

I'm not sure about the sharp sticks and super soaker. An airtight underground house with advanced ventilation filters and recycling and a few years worth of food, water, and generator fuel might be more like it if the nano-bio robots are unleashed.

Saturday, 07 February, 2009  

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