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Military robots to come

The idea of a robot walking your dog or washing your windows might be appealing, but its still far fetched.
However, a robotic army is not. But dont expect those Hollywood-created versions of robotic soldiers, said
Howard Smith. Those arent necessarily the kind the military is creating.
According to Smith, author of the new book I,
robot and MIT-trained engineer and artificial
intelligence expert, the bulk of funding for artificial intelligence research is not directed toward consumers.
Instead, the focus is on developing new weapons and tools for the military.
He goes on to say that advancements in robotics
are changing the shape of the U. S. armed
forces and other armies around the world. More than 6,000 robots are already used by U.S. troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and astronomical amounts of money are being funneled into artificial intelligence research.
The military currently uses Predator aircraft
drones and bomb-defusing robots both of
which have undoubtedly saved countless lives of U.S. troops. While definite improvements over military weapons
of yesteryear, these robots still require a human at the controls.
But the latest advancements in military robotics
and artificial intelligence are aimed at cutting out
the middleman, i.e. removing the human factor from the decision making. Thats right, the military is creating
weapons that will ultimately decide whether to fire weapons. And that dramatically raises the stakes for the
military and for civilians, Smith said.
But one has to look at the drawbacks, such as how to equip a robot with a conscience and how will it distinguish
between an armed enemy and a curious child. These are serious questions that must be addressed before these
autonomous robots become standard gear for the military.
The United States is not alone in its quest for robotic weapons. Other nations, such as China, Israel and Russia
reportedly are developing unmanned military robotics. This high-tech arms race has many artificial intelligence
experts wondering if any international agreement will be created to draft a code of ethics for use of robotic
weapons.