# Is Skynet One Step Closer?



## MA-Caver (Jul 13, 2010)

Everytime I think we're going to be safe from having to rely upon machines to do all the work for us, I see something and the theme from Terminator plays in my head as I read the article.   



> *MoD unveils unmanned fighter jet 'of the future'* http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100713/wl_uk_afp/britaindefenceweapons_20100713094446
> Tue Jul 13, 5:39 am ET  LONDON
> (AFP)  An unmanned jet capable of striking long-range targets has been dubbed the &quot;combat aircraft of the future&quot; by the Ministry of Defence.  The Taranis -- named after the Celtic god of thunder -- was unveiled at a ceremony at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, on Monday.  The £142.5 million prototype is the size of a light aircraft and has been equipped with stealth technology to make it virtually undetectable.  In a press release, the MoD described the Taranis as &quot;a prototype unmanned combat aircraft of the future.&quot;  It is built to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions while its crew stays safely on the ground and can control the aircraft from anywhere in the world.  The unmanned fighter jet can also carry bombs and missiles and, if the trials prove successful, the MoD said it should &quot;ultimately be capable of striking targets at long range, even in another continent.&quot;  The current generation of propeller-driven drones -- such as the Predator and Reaper -- are capable of carrying missiles, but these unmanned planes can only be used in areas where the military has air dominance, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.  The first flight trials are due to start next year.


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## Thesemindz (Jul 13, 2010)

No fate.


-Rob


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## Omar B (Jul 13, 2010)

There seems to be a subtle theme of paranoia on the forum in the past few weeks.  

As long as the robot understands Asimov's rules of robotics we will be fine.


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## Omar B (Jul 13, 2010)

Double post.


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## Ken Morgan (Jul 13, 2010)

Omar B said:


> There seems to be a subtle theme of paranoia on the forum in the past few weeks.
> 
> As long as the robot understands Asimov's rules of robotics we will be fine.


 
Twice!!! You posted this twice!!! It must mean something!! What aren't you telling us???!! What????


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## Blindside (Jul 13, 2010)

Omar B said:


> There seems to be a subtle theme of paranoia on the forum in the past few weeks.
> 
> As long as the robot understands Asimov's rules of robotics we will be fine.



Gonna be hard to do when daddy is a military aircraft.

And that picture reminds me much more of the Cylon Raider from the (good) Battlestar Galactica series.


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## MA-Caver (Jul 13, 2010)

Blindside said:


> Omar B said:
> 
> 
> > There seems to be a subtle theme of paranoia on  the forum in the past few weeks.
> ...



Exactly. When it's programmed to kill humans. How sure are they that it can distinguish friendlies from the enemy?

2001: A Space Odyssey 
Colossus The Forbin Project
Demon Seed
War Games
Terminator 
The Matrix
I-Robot
Stealth
Eagle Eye 
and others... 

Are these films becoming prophetic? 
Is it paranoia? I dunno. All I know is what I see. 
We are putting far too much trust into these things. I doubt that they will get to the level of Colossus, WOPR, Skynet, Vikki, EDI, or Ariia but (again) viruses, malicious programming, et al. 

Lord knows if we have adequate fail-safe contingency plans.


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## Omar B (Jul 13, 2010)

Reminds me of when they started replacing some of the subways with unmanned trains.  People complained but there has not been an incident and they are always on time. 

Stuff like this does not worry me at all really.  Sure, runnaway robot fantsies are the stuff of fun blockbusters and cool books, but it won't ever get to that crazy skynet stage.  Besides, some loudmouth busybody is gonna raise bloody hell about this and our human pilots will back in danger ... or well they alwyas were.


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## MBuzzy (Jul 14, 2010)

Ummm, did I miss something??  How is this different from any other UAV?  

you guys do realize that it is still piloted, right??  It doesn't fly itself or have a brain or artificial intelligence and there are thousands of unmanned aircraft flying around RIGHT NOW.  But unmanned doesn't mean unpiloted.  The pilot just isn't in there.


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## Xue Sheng (Jul 14, 2010)

When it starts building these I'll worry

Until then, it is an unmanned drone


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## MA-Caver (Jul 14, 2010)

Xue Sheng said:


> When it starts building these I'll worry
> 
> Until then, it is an unmanned drone


Hmm... 
Is THIS close enough for ya?


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## Xue Sheng (Jul 14, 2010)

Only if it was made by a large computer with no human intervention or if the unmanned jet made it all by itself...then I would be a bit more concerned.... as for now it is still a remote operated unmanned drone... at this point I would be more concerned about the human operator


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## MA-Caver (Jul 14, 2010)

Xue Sheng said:


> Only if it was made by a large computer with no human intervention or if the unmanned jet made it all by itself...then I would be a bit more concerned.... as for now it is still a remote operated unmanned drone... at this point I would be more concerned about the human operator


Give it time.


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## Xue Sheng (Jul 14, 2010)

Maybe we should be more worried about... THIS!!!!


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## MA-Caver (Jul 14, 2010)

Xue Sheng said:


> Maybe we should be more worried about... THIS!!!!



Heh... I think that is what the OP is about amigo.


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## Xue Sheng (Jul 14, 2010)

yup before you know it we will all be fighting robots


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