If you did not read my title let me repeat a word, WRONG. I as a builder of robots firmly believe that to use those wonderful creations of our collective genius in destruction is not the right path.
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Now I am pragmatic and realize that all the wishing in the world is not going to prevent the use of robotic technology in areas of conflict. Many robots as I write these words are used to render road side bombs useless. I have read many newspaper accounts of police forces using robots in bomb disposal. I saw a news account of a robot dealing with a person that had a gun in a car that the police had surrounded.
Let me tell you a little story that come to mind as I was writing this note. On many channels around the world there is a version of robots fighting in an arena. Now to me since they are remote controlled they are not true robots A true robot must, and I repeat this for this is a key concept, must be autonomous. David Heiserman, my mentor taught me this lesson very early and I have never forgotten it. Also why do we call it artificial intelligence?? Is it somehow fake ???? I prefer and use the term machine intelligence. Shows like this are upsetting to me for I hate to see what people, through a lot of blood sweat and tears create, smashed to pieces. They matched a beautiful walking robot with a powerful one and the walking robot was pulverized in seconds. As it happened I wondered how long it took for that roboticist to build and troubleshoot it.
In the United States there is an agency that is pouring a lot of time and a ton of money into robotics research. That agency is DARPA.
That stands for Defense Advances Research Programs Agency.
They are spending billions of dollars to make sure that a lot of the fighting will be done by robots and not humans. It is part of the congressional mandate to limit the casualties of any future conflict. We already as a species, deploy drones and smart bombs. Cruise missiles have proven their effectiveness over the years. Even though I am firmly against it, this trend will only intensify over the next few decades.
Does this kind of future frighten you??? Well I firmly believe that the future is what we make it. It hinges on the day to day decisions we all make, no matter how insignificant they may seem at the time. Also I feel lamenting about what I cannot control as counter productive.
The question is what can we do to try and modify the way the future will become. I have not the power or the money to try and change the world. However I can control what I do. Firstly I will tell whoever wants to listen and read what I feel about these important subjects.
However I know that all those robot builders around the world that struggle alone and with woefully inadequate funding will make a real difference. I know being in the field for decades that progress that is significant takes many, many years of painstaking work. Those that want a quick fix will find this field rather frustrating. However I can speak from experience that when the work is done the results are well worth the wait. This field that we chose is still in its infancy and I believe that the breakthroughs will come from individuals following their own dream, rather from well heeled laboratories. Those in the military and business think only of the bottom line and very quick results.
This blog of mine deals with the ideas that come to me when I thinks about robots, which is every day. I will write more technical pieces in the future and will join it to my other blog Robots and
Nothing But. I am so grateful to Google for having such a wonderful service available for those of us with meager funds. However since we pay the bills we direct the research and I state with the greatest confidence , you ain't seen nothing yet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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