[ExI] robotic lunch counters

[Adrian Tymes]

On Jun 26, 2014 1:19 AM, "Rafal Smigrodzki" <rafal.smigrodzki at gmail.com>
wrote:
> The robots cannot be diverted to other uses, like stolen cars or guns,
since they are programmed to self-destruct if stolen. There is less
incentive to steal.

And if the self-destructs are disabled, or the point is just wrecking your
mine (impoverishing you) instead of taking the robots?

> Let's go a step further. The elites still get paid and they use some of
the loot to buy a robotic army, to deal with the rebels. Whoever has a
robotic army, wins.

Even today, DIY robots of military value are available to the masses.

> Of course, Freedonians didn't write the software. Somebody somewhere in
the cloud has root access.

There do exist honest programmers who do not leave such back doors.  OTOH,
there also exist those who specialize in gaining root access to what they
are not supposed to have root access to.

> Maybe multiple independent makers and owners of robots could achieve a
stable stalemate of mutually assured destruction. But maybe technology
wants something else.

Technology never "wants" anything.  It is ever but a tool.  A stalemate
seems likely.

Besides, programming is not that hard a skill to pick up.  Even now, some -
not as many as could be, but some - out of work mid-career janitors and
servers are retraining.  Even in Freedonia.
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