'Ban Killer Bots,' Urges Human Rights Watch 297
Taco Cowboy writes "A self-proclaimed 'Human Rights Group' — the 'International Human Rights Clinic' from Harvard Law School — has teamed up with 'Human Rights Watch' to urge the banning of 'Killer Robots.' A report issued by the Human Rights Watch, with the title of 'Losing Humanity,' claimed autonomous drones that could attack without human intervention would make war easier and endanger civilians. Where's the 'Robot Rights Watch' just when you need 'em?"
Killing without human intervention? (Score:4, Interesting)
That's nothing new. It's no different than land mines...
Oh, wait... [wikipedia.org]
Re:the danger of abstracted combat (Score:4, Interesting)
What is an enemy?
Is it a person who wishes to do you harm?
A person who wants to take something you have?
A person with whom you disagree?
Or just someone in the way of what you want to do?
In a war, do not both sides, regardless of the motives of either side, satisfy all of those? Is it no wonder that both sides refer to the other as the enemy?
In this case, what do the "terrorists" represent, that they merit being exterminated, without conscience nor remorse?
"Thy killed a shitton of people when they bombed the trade center!" You say?
Why? Why did they blow up the trade center?
It couldn't be because our countr(y/ies) was(were) meddling in their affairs, causing them harm, taking things from them, and fundementally in disagreement with their way of life?
Certainly not! They should be HAPPY that we want to destroy their culture, because we view certain aspects of it as being backwards and primitive! Our way is simply BETTER!
Now, let's do a thought experiment here. Powerful aliens come down from wherever out in space they are from, find our culture to be backward and primitive, and start strongarming us to cease being who we are, and become like them. They say it's a better way. Maybe it is. That isn't the point. The point is that they don't give us the choice. They do this because it makes it easier for them to establish trade with them, or to work within their stellar economy, or whatever. They profit, by eliminating our culture.
Would we not go to war with them, fighting their influence in every possible way, and even resort to guerilla and "terrorist" acts when faced by such a superior foe?
After thinking about that, can you really say you are any different than the "terrorists" we condemn with military machines daily?
We kill them, because they don't submit. They don't submit, because we are destroying and marginalizing their culture, because we feel it isn't worth retaining/is backward.
They don't want our help. They don't want our culture. They dnt want our values. They don't want us. We insist on meddling on all of thoe things.
We started the war.
Re:DIY (Score:4, Interesting)
For reference: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3302763.stm [bbc.co.uk]