isn't it about time we built some robots to do our fighting for us…

[pruner]

couldn't all the money spent on tanks & humvees be better spent on giant robot warriors.

then we wouldn't need to have a draft.

[bluestateguy]

1. Battle Droids?

[pruner]

2. yes!

:yourock:

[thebigidea]

3. I'm sure Rummy is already on that

I can see him getting excited at the very prospect of "transforming, streamlining, and robotizing the Armed Forces."

[creativelcro]

9. THEY ARE ALREADY ON THAT

and the main inspiration is Star Wars. Serious, got it from an insider. The problem is communication though.

[Exultant Democracy]

4. "And when they grab you with thoes metal claws you can't break free

because they are made of metal and robots are strong."

[Paul Hood]

5. My god I better buy robot insurance.

[BigMcLargehuge]

15. I thought they only wanted to eat my medicine!

what's the number of that insurance company again!!!!

[PVnRT]

16. For when the metal ones come for you...and they will

http://www.robotcombat.com/video_oldglory_hi.html

[leanings]

6. I'd say

the only worse than becoming TOO risk-adverse would be if we DIDN'T have to worry about taking casualties. You think Bush is feeling his oats now; how would it be if 0 US soldiers were killed in Iraq?

Giant robot warriors would be pretty cool, tho. I bet the Japanese would build some neat ones.

[elperromagico]

7. Most robots are Republicans.

Their lack of personality, sensitivity, and natural intelligence is a dead giveaway.

So I must assume that robots would start wars, and then send humans off to fight them.

[MojoKrunch]

8. Meat based robots.

Cheaper than high tech.
Easily replacable.
Roughly 3 billion of them in backstock.

Progamming them properly can be time consuming but doable.
The only real problem is getting the laser beam eyes working, Dr. Evil.
But we're working on it.

Nature spent 3 billion years perfecting the organic computer and we think we're going to make something similar in a few decades?

Sheesh.
Mojo

[SnowGoose]

11. Human soldier's "limitation": ability to think for oneself

I'm with you that the "organic computer" with which we come equipped is a stupendous accomplishment of evolution, but even after decades of indoctrination, humans have this sloppy habit of (sometimes) thinking for themselves - of being horrified by their actions - and even (perhaps too rarely) refusing to carry out illegal or immoral commands.

I'm pretty confident that the military isn't interested in anything "as good" as the human mind. Quite the contrary, I'd expect they want something that can move, aim, and shoot (which if you think about it, some insects can do just fine), while leaving out the very best qualities of the human mind.

But I agree with your point that they have plenty of human fodder lined up, and won't hesitate to send them into destruction if it suits their purposes. What a truly horrifying thought.

[MojoKrunch]

13. Wouldn't that be weird....

if the first batch of "battle robots" had insect brains?

THE ROACHES WILL RULE THE WORLD!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
:cough:

Mojo

[maddezmom]

10. Pentagon already spending $ on it....

http://www.why-war.com/news/2003/09/21/pentagon.html

search Robot Soldiers ~ many links

[Gringo]

12. that would be a Pandora's Box

Unfortunately, Rummy already has the military working on this nonsense. The problem with robot warriors is that it takes any and all limitations off of imperialist expansionist governments (like our own). Without our own men dying, very few would object to fraudulent wars like Iraq, and the populace would probably even consent to wars with no justification at all (attacking France because they wouldn't help us in Iraq)

They are also working on tiny nanorobots which are also terrifying...


Haven't you seen "The Terminator"? The sad thing is, a computer like skynet would probably never unleash such horror on the world. Unscrupulous humans, however, will go to ANY leangths for money and power...

[PVnRT]

14. Yeah, but then

they become sentient and destroy the human race. Haven't you ever read or watched science fiction?

[terryg11]

17. they are working on it

as has already been stated hre there are programs out there to try and replace human soldiers with robots. Sci-fi come to life? Not yet but only a mtter of time, they will get the technology correct.

[Silverhair]

18. The first robots will be aircraft. Look at Predator & cruise missiles.

Current warplanes are the size they are, and as expensive as they are, because they need a human in the plane to fly them, and that means some life support for the human, and an ejection seat, and all kinds of insturments so he can monitor system performance, and all of that stuff takes weight which makes the plane still larger. But if the pilot is just a microprocessor, then the plane can be made much smaller and cheaper, and expendable.

Cruise missiles can be thought of a robot attack aircraft.

The Air Force is strongly resisting robot plane because there is no hero pilot, but the fact is that roboplanes are coming. Predator is simply the first generation.

[jpgray]

19. "The wars of the future, will be be fought by giant robots

and your job will be to build and maintain those robots."

:D

The Simpsons have a quote for any occassion.