04
Mon, Nov
1 New Articles

Robot Soldiers

Commentary
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Apart from the works of the late Douglas Adams, I've read little science fiction in the last two or three decades, but I obviously read way too much in my youth because some of today's technology headlines scare the bejeebers out of me. I don't even know what a bejeeber is or how many I used to have, but I know that they've all been scared out of me.

You know the plot line. Humans develop technology. Technology turns on humans. Human folly is laid bare. The most famous example is probably HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Everyone who saw it remembers HAL's chilling line, "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." Sci-fi fans can no doubt name several variations on that theme.

What made me think of this? The New York Times recently published an article, titled "A New Model Army Soldier Rolls Closer to the Battlefield," about the coming of robot soldiers. How scary is that?

The Pentagon is planning to spend $127 billion (we can trust the military to come in on budget, right?) on a project called Future Combat Systems. At first, the robot soldiers developed under this project will be remote controlled, but according to the article, "Military planners say robot soldiers will [eventually] think, see and react increasingly like humans." Great, my computer still periodically generates the blue screen of death, and I can't load a software patch without having to reboot before it will take effect, but they think that they're going to build robots capable of reliably distinguishing between the good guys and the bad guys in order to take lethal action against the latter. I hope that they haven't hired the programmers who were responsible for Windows security.

Why are they doing this? One reason is obvious. Why put lives at risk when you don't have to? That's a good point, but it's also one part of what I find frightening. I don't want a single American or any other life wasted. However, war without consequences for one of the sides is a chilling prospect. I have confidence in the good intentions of the government. What I am less confident in is its ability to make decisions that will consistently advance its goals rather than, inadvertently, working against them.

The decision to go to war should be the most difficult decision any government makes. I would like to think that when a government is contemplating putting its own citizens in harm's way, they will give a thought or two to whether or not the cause is really worth the cost. I won't always agree with their assessment of that balance, but who am I to judge these things?

My question is this: What happens to the war decision-making process if you remove the human consequences from one side of the equation? What if, because all of their soldiers were robots, one side didn't have to put the lives of any of its citizens at risk? I suspect that the government would not think quite as long and hard before pushing the button to send its robots off to war. That's fine if the toy soldiers are in the hands of the good guys, but it's not always easy to tell who the good guys are. And what about the lives lost on the side without the robot soldiers? Some of them will be innocent civilians. The lives on the other side never seem to count for nearly as much in war calculations. That's OK when it's our side making the decision, but we would likely be less thrilled when it's the other side deciding whether or not to attack us.

I shouldn't be surprised that the military wants to build robot soldiers. I suspect that since the beginning of time, if there was any possible way for a useful technology to be employed in war or other violent purpose, someone did it. How soon after the discovery of fire did someone use it to burn down an enemy's encampment? How soon after the wheel was invented did someone use it to roll over his enemies? I don't know, but I bet it was faster than you can say, "Open the pod bay doors, please, HAL."

Why can't we be content using our machines to do only useful things like building cars and hula hoops? It's not as if robotics has progressed as far as it can on the peaceful front. I'm still waiting for someone to make a versatile and inexpensive android maid. I'd prefer that they develop an automaton to clean up my condo before they create one to blow it up. If a robot is going to hunt me down, I would be mortified if it found a pig sty when it arrived. Then again, as things are now, I could successfully hide from the robot by taking refuge behind one of the enormous mounds of paper and dust bunnies that are scattered around my home.

I probably shouldn't worry about this so much. After all, this is the same government that is considering scrapping a not-yet-implemented, $170 million FBI Virtual Case File system--a system that was considered to be critical after the intelligence failures leading up to September 11, 2001--because it doesn't work. And this is the same military whose last two missile defense system tests--tests that cost $85 million each--failed to launch because of some glitch. The government spends about $10 billion a year on that program. So my fears about this are probably premature. Given its track record, I will probably be long dead of natural causes before the military gets its toy soldiers working.

Joel Klebanoff is a consultant, a writer, and president of Klebanoff Associates, Inc., a Toronto, Canada-based marketing communications firm. Joel has 25 years experience working in IT, first as a programmer/analyst and then as a marketer. He holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science and an MBA, both from the University of Toronto. Contact Joel at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He greatly prefers non-lethal toys.

Joel Klebanoff

Joel Klebanoff is a consultant, writer, and formerly president of Klebanoff Associates, Inc., a Toronto-based marketing communications firm. He has 30 years' experience in various IT capacities and now specializes in writing articles, white papers, and case studies for IT vendors and publications across North America. Joel is also the author of BYTE-ing Satire, a compilation of a year's worth of his columns. He holds a BS in computer science and an MBA, both from the University of Toronto.


MC Press books written by Joel Klebanoff available now on the MC Press Bookstore.

BYTE-ing Satire BYTE-ing Satire
Find out the hilarious answer to the eternal question: "Is technology more hindrance than help?"
List Price $14.95

Now On Sale

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: