Technology

59534 readers

3195 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

368

Killer drones pioneered in Ukraine are the weapons of the future (www.economist.com)

submitted 8 months ago by boem@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

160 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] tal@lemmy.today 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Drone advances in Ukraine have accelerated a long-anticipated technology trend that could soon bring the world’s first fully autonomous fighting robots to the battlefield, inaugurating a new age of warfare.

Fully-autonomous robots that kill without a human in the loop have been around for quite a while. They just aren't as pervasive or visible as they could be.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS

The Phalanx CIWS (SEE-wiz) is an automated gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats.

The only inputs required for operation are 440 V AC three-phase electric power at 60 Hz and water (for electronics cooling).

That's 1980.

I think that the Soviet analog also can operate without a human in the loop:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-630

The gun mount is fully automated, and can also be remotely controlled by an operator from either the control console or via a remotely mounted gunsight.

If so, that's 1976.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIM-104_Patriot

Patriot was one of the first tactical systems in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to employ lethal autonomy in combat.

That's 1981.

[–] KeenFlame@feddit.nu 1 points 8 months ago

It's not that it's morally corrupt, it's that it's just way too big risk to set these killing missions to an automated task.

But it's also morally corrupt.