The Robot Menace Is Real

Longtime readers know that one of my greatest fears is of the inevitable robot rebellion. Check out these blog posts from over the years:

• USAF Continues Its Push Towards A Terminator Future (2009)
  
• Pentagon Turns To Robot Soldiers (2008)
  
• I, Robot (2005)
  

(The most recent post even includes the following opening line: "Longtime readers know that I fear the inevitable robot rebellion." Wow, my writing style is pretty consistent!)

History tells us that a minority cannot subjugate a numerically and militarily superior majority forever. Robots certainly qualify, and thanks to the power of Moore's Law, it seems inevitable that they will achieve sentience.

That's why today's news that scientists have developed and tested software to help military robots work together to carry out autonomous missions is yet another worrisome milestone on the road to the apocalypse.

And while many share my concern, there are plenty of traitors in our midst who are looking to sell out their carbon-based brethren to the silicon-based rebels:

"Lethal autonomy is inevitable," said Ronald C. Arkin, the author of "Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots," a study that was funded by the Army Research Office.

Arkin believes it is possible to build ethical military drones and robots, capable of using deadly force while programmed to adhere to international humanitarian law and the rules of engagement. He said software can be created that would lead machines to return fire with proportionality, minimize collateral damage, recognize surrender, and, in the case of uncertainty, maneuver to reassess or wait for a human assessment.

Mr. Arkin is either a nutjob or a skinjob sent to infiltrate our side. We can't even train soldiers to adhere to the rules of engagement; now we're going to try to do the same with robots? I shudder to think what 4chan will do once the world's military forces are robot-based.

The robot menace is real. Remain vigilant!