http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0337/baard.php
The rush towards military robotics is another of these technological streams which is making science fiction fact. Some scientists, for personal reasons, are refusing to accept sponsorship or direction from military sources. There are, however, sufficiently many researchers who are perfectly willing to work on such projects that the overall thrust of developments in this arena is unlikely to be halted. "The Terminator" it isn't, but robotic innovations [some of which have already been field tested] which help make the difficult, dangergous, dirty, and undesirable job of city-fighting more manageable while reducing friendly casualties represent just one strand of this effort. Those sponsoring it, and more important, the soldiers using it, are, in general, firm advocates of this technology.
Of course the ultimate upshot of this antimilitary stance is that people will die, instead of machines.
Posted by jho at September 18, 2003 10:07 AM