Word: humanism
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...their use. "This is a concept paper to think about war-fighting outcomes and what robotics will do for soldiers," says U.S. Lieut. General Michael Vane, who directs the Army Capabilities Integration Center in Fort Monroe, Va. "I am starting out with the idea of having a technology-enabled human. [But] we might someday come up with [separate] IT doctrine and robot doctrine." He reiterates that "we want to make the people or humans in charge under command and control in a 'whole of government' approach." The white paper will be finished in the coming weeks, Army officials...
...course, there are some experts who are less sanguine about the capabilities of "autonomous" robots than the Pentagon. Says Daniel Goure, vice president of the Lexington Institute, a public-policy think tank: "It is tough enough for us to train human soldiers to distinguish between combatants and noncombatants on the battlefield. It is much more difficult to write software that does that." Goure adds, "How does a robot distinguish between a friendly ally, a local civilian or a hostile fighter? The distinguishing characteristics are for the most part very small. What are the distinguishing characteristics between an enemy column...
Computer algorithms are advancing to the point where prototype robots like the Army's Multi-Utility Logistics Equipment (MULE) vehicle are able to cross barriers and navigate obstacles without human guidance. The MULE - a 14-ft.-long, six-wheeled robot equipped with a range of navigational sensors slated to deploy with U.S. forces 2015 - will eventually carry Javelin antitank missiles and M240 machine guns. The MULE could well carry supplies and conduct reconnaissance missions for light infantry units in difficult terrain like Afghanistan. It is programmed with onboard computers so that the vehicle can find its own way around corners...
...same way he did three years ago," says Omar Almashhadani, a spokesman for the Front, citing improvements in the Iraqi security forces and their intelligence gathering capabilities. "The problem," he adds, "is that some detainees are going to be transferred from a prison that, to a certain degree, respects human rights, to another that doesn't. We have less confidence in the Iraqi government than we do in the American troops...
...Human rights groups including Amnesty International have warned that detainees are at risk of torture, or even execution, if they are handed over to Baghdad. They have also raised concerns about "appalling" internment conditions as well as a backlog of judicial cases and questions as to how free and fair the judicial process is. Overcrowding is a pressing concern. The Iraqi prison system is operating at 103% capacity, Quantock says, and as a result, more than 500 convicted criminals are being held at Bucca on behalf of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice until space opens up. Says a senior Iraqi...