It’s no secret that unmanned robots are a big part of fighting wars. But what’s interesting about them is how little they rely on humans to tell them what to do. The machine above is called an X-47B and not only does it fly on its own, but it can land and take off from aircraft carriers with little to no human guidance. It also carries bombs, but that is where the humans come in — while it flies on its own, the bombs are only released when an actual person gives it the cue to do so.
So, is the next step a human-like fighter, like the T-1000? Probably not. Many of these robots exist only to be shot and detect other bombs (and be blown up before a soldier does). But the idea of some of these robots progressing towards being programmed to detonate on their own? … You know they’re thinking about it, and that’s the tiniest bit creepy. Think about how many times a day your computer takes too long to load … or crashes.
Video of Fareed Zakaria discussing this on his CNN show Fareed Zakaria GPS is after the jump.
(CNN)
