And just as the labor movement kicked back against the robber barons, we need to do the same. Some beheadings are fully in order. Would you be surprised to hear I’m an anarcho-syndicalist punk? A few weeks of a global general strike will bring those billionaires into line. Let them eat their crypto and stocks as workers share solidarity.
As far as warfare goes, we have banned nuclear weapons and have maintained a global consensus on that. Why not AI weapons? It’s about time humanity outgrew war altogether. Perhaps this could be the tipping point. A drone swarm over a few senators homes would change hearts and minds quickly. Governments need to fear the citizens again.
AI based weapon systems do not have the shock value of being a weapon of mass destruction. They are only an automated version of basic guns and explosives (that are available pretty much everywhere, including homemade variants) on a mobile platform. And the nuclear weapon proliferation treaty is pretty much dead in the water, with multiple nation states either already having acquired them in the last 2 decades or being so close to having them that the only thing holding them back is political in nature, and these barriers are easily jumped over.
It took WW2 and the potential to sterilize and glass over the entire planet to make countries agree that nuclear disarmament is needed. I do not see the necessary willingness to prevent “automated guns”. In a world where nuclear proliferation treaties are crumbling, i would not bet a dime on a worldwide regulation of AI-powered weaponry, especially when looking at how many fucks the big countries are giving when the UN or ICC is speaking.
The only wild card in this situation is that basic FPVs are so cheap and easy to build out of commonly available consumer goods that it can’t really be prevented that common people might build them (or outright just buy them), and the people with better technical knowledge will also be able to build their own AI weapons. That’s like “the democratization of violent force”. Seeing how smart the average person is makes my head hurt when trying to envision such a future.
Once, the crossbow was condemned as being too barbaric a weapon. Until humanity outgrows its desire for violence, new ways to kill are inevitable. This is a problem with human nature, not devices.
The power of a crossbow to cause mass casualties is pretty low. Even conventional small arms have limited potential when used as single weapons, and there is always a human deciding to pull the trigger, who might disobey illegal orders to kill the innocent.
When implementing an fully automated AI powered kill chain, there is noone feeling responsible for the actions of these machinations, because the emotional distance is too large. AI systems do not have the concept of an atrocity if built for this purpose. And the killing only stops when someone disables it - but i’d say that if someone was unscrupulous enough to have started something like this, he will keep it going just to ensure he won’t be punished for it.
I’d say the actual potential to cause harm to innocents of such a system is much larger than the threat of nuclear war, because the latter can only be started by an actual madman who would have in most cases to fight his own staff who actually wants to live. The former i can see being implemented by run of the mill politicians and generals, or even some cartels.
Agreed. Really.
And just as the labor movement kicked back against the robber barons, we need to do the same. Some beheadings are fully in order. Would you be surprised to hear I’m an anarcho-syndicalist punk? A few weeks of a global general strike will bring those billionaires into line. Let them eat their crypto and stocks as workers share solidarity.
As far as warfare goes, we have banned nuclear weapons and have maintained a global consensus on that. Why not AI weapons? It’s about time humanity outgrew war altogether. Perhaps this could be the tipping point. A drone swarm over a few senators homes would change hearts and minds quickly. Governments need to fear the citizens again.
But I digress
AI based weapon systems do not have the shock value of being a weapon of mass destruction. They are only an automated version of basic guns and explosives (that are available pretty much everywhere, including homemade variants) on a mobile platform. And the nuclear weapon proliferation treaty is pretty much dead in the water, with multiple nation states either already having acquired them in the last 2 decades or being so close to having them that the only thing holding them back is political in nature, and these barriers are easily jumped over.
It took WW2 and the potential to sterilize and glass over the entire planet to make countries agree that nuclear disarmament is needed. I do not see the necessary willingness to prevent “automated guns”. In a world where nuclear proliferation treaties are crumbling, i would not bet a dime on a worldwide regulation of AI-powered weaponry, especially when looking at how many fucks the big countries are giving when the UN or ICC is speaking.
The only wild card in this situation is that basic FPVs are so cheap and easy to build out of commonly available consumer goods that it can’t really be prevented that common people might build them (or outright just buy them), and the people with better technical knowledge will also be able to build their own AI weapons. That’s like “the democratization of violent force”. Seeing how smart the average person is makes my head hurt when trying to envision such a future.
Once, the crossbow was condemned as being too barbaric a weapon. Until humanity outgrows its desire for violence, new ways to kill are inevitable. This is a problem with human nature, not devices.
Is gunpowder culpable for artillery?
The power of a crossbow to cause mass casualties is pretty low. Even conventional small arms have limited potential when used as single weapons, and there is always a human deciding to pull the trigger, who might disobey illegal orders to kill the innocent.
When implementing an fully automated AI powered kill chain, there is noone feeling responsible for the actions of these machinations, because the emotional distance is too large. AI systems do not have the concept of an atrocity if built for this purpose. And the killing only stops when someone disables it - but i’d say that if someone was unscrupulous enough to have started something like this, he will keep it going just to ensure he won’t be punished for it.
I’d say the actual potential to cause harm to innocents of such a system is much larger than the threat of nuclear war, because the latter can only be started by an actual madman who would have in most cases to fight his own staff who actually wants to live. The former i can see being implemented by run of the mill politicians and generals, or even some cartels.