"Why America Wants Drones That Can Kill Without Humans"

(Mods, can you please move this to the Posse Comitatus forum? The post button in that forum still doesn't show up for me.)
www.defenseone.com...

The article linked above is an essay on the wonderful reasons why machines are so much better at deciding who to kill than humans. Better targeting, better reflexes, better decision making abilities. Also notice the play on words in the title, about how "America" wants these new drones, implying that you and I hope these things come to fruition as soon as possible.

I disagree. While some of the abilities of drones could be used to augment human ability and human decisions, I believe that transferring all control to programming would be a bad idea.

Who gets to decide the parameters on "acceptable collateral damage"?
Rather than a single drone being hacked (which they actually outline as a problem in the article" a simple virus would allow entire fleets of these to be reprogrammed simultaneously.
By taking the human element out of the equation, drones could be deployed against target normal soldiers would hesitate or refuse to fire on (I'll let your imagination figure out who THAT might be)



From the website:
Defense One delivers news, breaking analysis and ideas on the topics and trends that will define the future of U.S. defense and national security. Our editorial approach is to cover the people and forces shaping a new era for defense through the post-war transformation and into a 21st century global security landscape. Defense One informs national security professionals, stakeholders and citizens with what they need to know, from senior leaders in Washington to commanders abroad and next-generation thinkers far from the political scrum.

Defense One is a property of Atlantic Media, whose mission is to inform, elevate and challenge the national discourse. It is produced by Government Executive Media Group.

From Wiki:
Government Executive is an American trade magazine, founded in 1969. It was purchased in 1987 by National Journal, which itself was purchased in 1997 by the Atlantic Media Company, owned by David Bradley. The magazine is distributed free to senior executives in federal, state and local governments.[1] In 2009, the independent research firm Market Connections, Inc. cited the magazine as the number one publication read by federal managers.[2]

Sorry this isn't as well thought out as my normal posts, but I am suffering a severe summer cold which is making my head a little fuzzy)

reply to post by QuantumCypher

The article linked above is an essay on the wonderful reasons why machines are so much better at deciding who to kill than humans. Better targeting, better reflexes, better decision making abilities.

Easier to blame machinery for "mistakes", too.

reply to post by intrptr

And, come to think of it, machines can't ignore an illegal command or be whistleblowers either.
2nd

reply to post by QuantumCypher


Does that mean that they have a computer program for "profiling"?

Autonomous drones programmed to kill on their own.

Lord help us!
(and pass the ammo!)

They did something similar on that old tv show Twilight Zone.

It didn't turn out well for humans.....

reply to post by QuantumCypher


Someone could design drones that takeout other drones..

reply to post by beezzer

I didn't want to say it in the original post, but have none of these people seen the Terminator series? Or any of the other hundreds of other autonomous robot movies that have come out in the past 50 years? Do they not realize they are building Skynet?

reply to post by hknudzkknexnt

While I'm certain that the drones could be designed, I'm also certain that the weapons systems needed for drone on drone combat would be beyond what us "normal" citizens are allowed to have. Short of building a faster "kamikaze" drone, which would be difficult to produce in numbers needed.

reply to post by snowspirit

It never does. And based on some conversations I've had with a friend who works for a company that also gets DOD and DARPA contracts, this autonomous thing is something they are trying to implement full spectrum across the board, down to having a central unit at the base station relaying orders to soldiers on the field based on input it gets from the drones and sensors they want the soldiers equipped with. They literally want the AI's giving the orders to the troops, without human influence.

QuantumCypher
reply to post by intrptr

 

And, come to think of it, machines can't ignore an illegal command or be whistleblowers either.
2nd

Agreed. Or require pilots to cross borders and violate sovereign airspace (not that that matters anymore). The last sentence from your link...

“I don’t think any actor, human or not, is capable of carrying out the refined, precise ROEs that would enable an armed intervention to be helpful in Syria.”

Bingo. Theres the rub. They want drones over Syria. Easier to accept because "nobody" is involved. Its a machine violating you. Excuse me, "intervening" you.

reply to post by intrptr

And much easier for the public to swallow. "No boots on the ground, no American lives being lost. Look at us, bring democracy to the world one lethal drone strike at a time!"

reply to post by QuantumCypher

Noor Aziz | 8 | male
Abdul Wasit | 17 | male
Noor Syed | 8 | male
Wajid Noor | 9 | male
Syed Wali Shah | 7 | male
Ayeesha | 3 | female
Qari Alamzeb | 14| male
Shoaib | 8 | male
Hayatullah KhaMohammad | 16 | male
Tariq Aziz | 16 | male
Sanaullah Jan | 17 | male
Maezol Khan | 8 | female
Nasir Khan | male
Naeem Khan | male
Naeemullah | male
Mohammad Tahir | 16 | male
Azizul Wahab | 15 | male
Fazal Wahab | 16 | male
Ziauddin | 16 | male
Mohammad Yunus | 16 | male
Fazal Hakim | 19 | male
Ilyas | 13 | male
Sohail | 7 | male
Asadullah | 9 | male
khalilullah | 9 | male
Noor Mohammad | 8 | male
Khalid | 12 | male
Saifullah | 9 | male
Mashooq Jan | 15 | male

A List Of Children Killed By Drone Strikes In Pakistan and Yemen

Coming to an American city near you.....

With Personal kill lists used as an excuse on the War on Terror, expect the unexpected.




S&F

reply to post by sonnny1

Especailly with the increasing long list the feds are building of "suspected potential domestic terrorists."

When "being a Ron Paul supporter" is a reason for the government to place you on a watch list, with Holder saying that he believes it's justifiable to use drones against American citizens on American soil, and with the serious potential for economic collapse right around the corner, I think that they are in a real hurry to get people out from behind the trigger button and put everything under the control of a machine that only does what it's told...

sonnny1
reply to post by QuantumCypher

 

Noor Aziz | 8 | male
Abdul Wasit | 17 | male
Noor Syed | 8 | male
Wajid Noor | 9 | male
Syed Wali Shah | 7 | male
Ayeesha | 3 | female
Qari Alamzeb | 14| male
Shoaib | 8 | male
Hayatullah KhaMohammad | 16 | male
Tariq Aziz | 16 | male
Sanaullah Jan | 17 | male
Maezol Khan | 8 | female
Nasir Khan | male
Naeem Khan | male
Naeemullah | male
Mohammad Tahir | 16 | male
Azizul Wahab | 15 | male
Fazal Wahab | 16 | male
Ziauddin | 16 | male
Mohammad Yunus | 16 | male
Fazal Hakim | 19 | male
Ilyas | 13 | male
Sohail | 7 | male
Asadullah | 9 | male
khalilullah | 9 | male
Noor Mohammad | 8 | male
Khalid | 12 | male
Saifullah | 9 | male
Mashooq Jan | 15 | male

A List Of Children Killed By Drone Strikes In Pakistan and Yemen

Coming to an American city near you.....

With Personal kill lists used as an excuse on the War on Terror, expect the unexpected.

S&F

edit on 8-10-2013 by sonnny1 because: (no reason given)

And that's just the ones leaked/reported.