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sharkeye

Killer robots can be taught ethics

Adherence to the Three Laws of Robotics as put forth by Isaac Asimov has been, until now, entrusted to whoever held the joystick. That may change.

A robotics engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed an "ethical governor," which could be used to program military robots to act ethically when deciding when, and whom, to shoot or bomb.

Ron Arkin has demonstrated the system using attack UAVs and actual battlefield scenarios and maps from recent U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan. (videos)

In one scenario, a drone spots Taliban soldiers, but holds its fire because they'… Read more

Why caring robots should be controlled

About 5.5 million robots were sold this year.

This figure doesn't refer to the sort of robots that build cars, refuse to live in Detroit, and rarely lose their jobs. There are only about 1 million of those. Rather, it refers to the sales of so-called professional and personal-services robots.

You know, the sort that play games with your kids, scare your cats as they scrub your floors, and feed and bathe your doddering granny. You don't have a personal-services robot yet? Well, recession does have it uses.

However, professor Noel Sharkey believes now is the time … Read more