The Drone That Decides When You Die
May I present to you the most cyberpunk thing I have seen in recent months: A cheery YouTube video set to the tune of upbeat techno, in which a cpu rendered voice cheerily advertises the features of an automated killing machine.
Welcome to the kargu-2 quadcopter. With facial recognition software, a 30 minute fly time, 3 payload ordinances, and 90 mph max speed. Follow us on twitter.
As I often talk about, I believe we are living in the sci-fi future. There are often debates about whether drones should be allowed in warfare—how any kind of ban would even be enforced is another matter entirely. That we are even debating how to handle such a reality is a shocking development for humanity. What is truly surprising though, is that this debate has now reached a new level.
It’s recently been reported that last year in Libya, the first instance of a self-guided drone kill occurred:
All loss of life is tragic, and proponents of drones herald the minimal “boots on the ground” presence that they allow. Those against drones have many arguments, including that killing with one creates a distancing effect that makes killing “feel too easy for the operator”. There are of course the heavy civilian casualties that are caused by drone strikes as well.
The Kargu-2 quadcopter is apparently capable of being directed to a set of coordinates, then using facial recognition to seek out and attack a target that matches its parameters. It is not under full control, and does not need confirmation from a human to execute a kill. Its method of attack is a kamikaze divebomb and detonation of a shotgun blast at close range.
As a sci-fi writer I sometimes find myself struggling in these situations. Media such as the Terminator has largely prepped us for the concept of being hunted down by a machine. It’s such a common trope now that it is almost a cliché. I feel like if you were to read about this in a fictional story you would probably be rolling your eyes.
Yet here it is emerging in the real world just last year.
How long will it take for this to become “normal”, in the same way that the public views piloted drone strikes? Ten, twenty years? Even if society at large comes together to reject their use, the technology is readily available to those that wish to use it. The least we can do is keep our eyes open and be aware that it is happening.
Have you heard about anything like this that I’ve missed? I consider myself pretty plugged in on these things, but this one slipped past me.
Welcome to the kargu-2 quadcopter. With facial recognition software, a 30 minute fly time, 3 payload ordinances, and 90 mph max speed. Follow us on twitter.
As I often talk about, I believe we are living in the sci-fi future. There are often debates about whether drones should be allowed in warfare—how any kind of ban would even be enforced is another matter entirely. That we are even debating how to handle such a reality is a shocking development for humanity. What is truly surprising though, is that this debate has now reached a new level.
It’s recently been reported that last year in Libya, the first instance of a self-guided drone kill occurred:
“The lethal autonomous weapons systems were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true ‘fire, forget and find’ capability,” the report from the UN Security Council’s panel of experts on Libya said.
All loss of life is tragic, and proponents of drones herald the minimal “boots on the ground” presence that they allow. Those against drones have many arguments, including that killing with one creates a distancing effect that makes killing “feel too easy for the operator”. There are of course the heavy civilian casualties that are caused by drone strikes as well.
The Kargu-2 quadcopter is apparently capable of being directed to a set of coordinates, then using facial recognition to seek out and attack a target that matches its parameters. It is not under full control, and does not need confirmation from a human to execute a kill. Its method of attack is a kamikaze divebomb and detonation of a shotgun blast at close range.
As a sci-fi writer I sometimes find myself struggling in these situations. Media such as the Terminator has largely prepped us for the concept of being hunted down by a machine. It’s such a common trope now that it is almost a cliché. I feel like if you were to read about this in a fictional story you would probably be rolling your eyes.
Yet here it is emerging in the real world just last year.
How long will it take for this to become “normal”, in the same way that the public views piloted drone strikes? Ten, twenty years? Even if society at large comes together to reject their use, the technology is readily available to those that wish to use it. The least we can do is keep our eyes open and be aware that it is happening.
Have you heard about anything like this that I’ve missed? I consider myself pretty plugged in on these things, but this one slipped past me.
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