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- Robots of death
by Bikbaye Inejnema
Sci-fi books and movies invaded the consciousness of the world many decades ago. It gave the world a glimpse of future possibilities and of machines that are capable of feats that humans can only dream of. Movies such as The Terminator, Star Wars, and The Matrix all scored big numbers at the box office because of the human fascination with living in a technologically advanced world where anything can be done by giving a simple command. Of course, such a way of life requires little or no effort from us, and the convenience it will provide will free up incredible amounts of time to engage in many of those extracurricular activities that our schedules will not allow today. If we could just push a button and have our clothes washed and folded, take out our trash, cook and serve our meals, clean our homes, pick up the kids from school, or do our grocery shopping, would we hesitate to do so? And really, thatıs just the tip of the iceberg. Highly advanced robots could be programmed to do literally anything we wanted, even kill!
Sounds far-fetched? This reality is closer to us than we think. Currently, the US military is working hard to make such a vision reality. ³They donıt get hungry, theyıre not afraid, they donıt forget their orders, and they donıt care if the guy next to them has been shot. Will they do a better job than humans? Yes,² Gordon Johnson of the Joint Forces Command said at the Pentagon.
The Pentagon is predicting that within the next decade, these specialized robots will become major fighting forces in the military. Hunting and killing enemies in combat will be their specialty. The $127 billion project called Future Combat Systems is now the biggest military contract in the history of America. The cost of such a project will boost the Defense Departmentıs budget nearly 20% from an already requested $419.3 billion for 2006 to $502.3 billion in 2010! And this does not include the cost of war itself!
Military planners are indicating that these robots will be developed to have the same characteristics as humans - the ability to see and react as American soldiers do now, but without emotions interfering or clouding critical judgements that may prevent them from completing their mission. These robots will also take on all sizes and shapes - everything from the appearance of a human to vehicles and many things in between. With this being a brainchild of the Pentagon for the last 30 years, they are predicting that it may be another 30 years before the full potential of these robots will be realized. There are still many kinks that need to be worked out, an important one being trying to figure out how these robots will be able to distinguish friend from foe. Robert Finkelstein, president of Robotic Technology in Potomac, Maryland, is telling the Pentagon that it could take until 2035 to develop a robot that looks, thinks, and fights like a soldier. ³The goal is there, but the path is not totally clear,² he said.
Besides hunting down enemies, plans are being made for these robots to haul ammunition, gather intelligence, and search buildings or blow them up. And with the development of nanotechnology (the science of building very small structures), they are capable of even becoming swarms of ³smart dust². As this article is being read, there are already robots in Iraq digging up roadside bombs and scouring caves in Afghanistan. The Pentagon is aiming at an April deadline to have developed an armed version of the bomb disposal robot in Bhagdad that will be able to fire 1,000 rounds per minute! For now, these robots will be controlled by a soldierıs laptop, but they will be the first thinking machine of its kind to take up a front-line infantry position armed and prepared to kill enemies.
For those that find this information disturbing, you have every reason to, because one fundamental question still exists: what determines who the enemy will be? Will it be any person or country that does not give in to the desires of the American government? If the answer to this question is solely based on Americaıs past and present ambitions to maintain itself as a superpower, it is safe to say that the future does not look good for nations that refuse to submit to the interests of America, whether they are justified or not.
