[extropy-chat] Re: The Hidden Luddite was Re: peak oil debate

[Adrian Tymes]

--- mail at harveynewstrom.com wrote:
> Adrian Tymes writes:
> > They do, however, have controllers and programmers.  The military
> is
> > being *extremely* careful to make sure that a human commander can
> > always stop a robot soldier from doing harm - and even with the
> video
> > screen distancing effect, those commanders will still know who
> they're
> > going against.
> 
> I doubt this.  We saw examples in the Iraq war where we would bomb
> far-away 
> targets based on an anonymous tip only to find out that the tip was
> false 
> and that we just bombed friendlies.

Not what I was talking about.  It's one thing to bomb an Iraqi target
and unintentionally wind up bombing friendlies.  It's quite another to
unleash bombs in the USA for any reason whatsoever (if you're US
military, atl least).

> I also doubt that any smarts
> will be 
> given to a robot to keep it from disobeying a direct order to attack
> just 
> because it thinks the targets are not the enemy.

You're probably correct - but you miss the point.  It'll be a human who
gives the order, because the human will make judgements as to whether
the targets are or are not the enemy.  Humans do make mistakes, but
they can also disobey, or at least complain (even if they are of a
mindset to follow orders), if they think they are doing the wrong
thing.  Even in the modern US military, each soldier is personally
responsible for not following obviously illegal orders.