Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3031-3035 (24th to 28th August 2015
ReindeerFlotilla:
--- Quote from: Morituri on 26 Aug 2015, 21:29 ---The US has an all-volunteer military.
--- End quote ---
Actually, not so. The Pentagon wants an all volunteer force, because it sees it as a more effective method. However, there is no statute to that effect. Indeed, The Joint Chiefs have had to tell Congress a time or two, "we'd really prefer it if you didn't active the draft," partly because Congress floating the idea was political theater, but also because they don't want it.
Likely they would feel the same way about AI soldiers, once they were required to treat them as people rather than tools. But that might not be the case. The military can be slow as hell about changing their point of view on a subject. In fact, if an AI were part of high value weapon system, I'd expect the first thing some military leaders would do is try to find a way to conscript them. Odds are, they put a lot of money into them.
But that's me rambling on. The main point is that the all volunteer nature of the DoD is a choice and goal of the Pentagon's, not a requirement.
ZoeB:
--- Quote from: mustang6172 on 26 Aug 2015, 20:55 ---Why would humanoid be the best shape for a combat robot?
--- End quote ---
Cammo.
In terms of their capabilities in degraded modes, all the military robots I've grown the AI for are like the T-1000. As are the spacecraft.
--- Quote ---"The radiation will cause random bit-flips and can even fry components," Brain says. "The vacuum boils the volatile gasses out of normal chips, making them useless and coating everything nearby with conductive gunk. In the Earth's shadow, temperatures make Antarctica look balmy, and in the sun's glare it's hotter than the Simpson Desert. On the way up, the vibration of the rocket would shake most normal circuit boards to pieces."
Spaceflight avionics software development is not for the faint-hearted either.
"The question for software developers is not, 'Are you paranoid?', the question is, 'Are you paranoid enough?' " Brain says. "Every software module, every function, procedure or method has to assume that information coming in may have been spoilt by a malfunction and be prepared for the worst. The system must be ductile - bending, not breaking - when things go wrong. In space no one can press Control/Alt/Delete."
--- End quote ---
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/24/1030052995897.html
However, I read XKCD so followed this:
For more on meta-genetic algorithms, see
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275953662_Meta-Genetic_Algorithms_Molecules_and_Supercomputers_%28Poster%29
(Poster for SC10 Conference on High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis, New Orleans 2010)
Akima:
So it would be accurate to say that the USA has an all-volunteer military, but the legal structure of conscription is still in place. Curiously enough, that puts it on exactly the same footing as the People's Republic of China; every Chinese citizen between certain ages is technically subject to conscription, but the PRC has never actually implemented it. The supply of volunteers as always been sufficient, even during the Korean War.
--- Quote from: mustang6172 on 26 Aug 2015, 20:55 ---Why would humanoid be the best shape for a combat robot?
--- End quote ---
It would depend on the role. A bipedal tank would not make much sense, but a robot that had to share environments with humans (ride in an APC, move around inside a building with flights of stairs) might be a different matter.
Do Bubbles and Jeremy while away the hours arm-wrestling? Or they could play board-games, I suppose. I can't shake the thought of Bubbles in a kimono practicing ikebana.
improvnerd:
--- Quote from: Akima on 27 Aug 2015, 03:40 ---I can't shake the thought of Bubbles in a kimono practicing ikebana.
--- End quote ---
That's pretty anthropomorpho-centric of you. Why can't a robot arm enjoy flower arrangement?
Neko_Ali:
--- Quote from: QuestionableIntentions on 26 Aug 2015, 23:16 ---The fact that Jeremy is there has two possible, rather disturbing implications:
1) Your average assembly arm can develop a taste for illegal violence
2) Jeremy got laid of in a way and now has to make his living by fighting.
--- End quote ---
Ironically, Jeremy was laid off because his job was replaced by a human....
A walking tank is impractical in pretty much any situation. There are very few robot vehicles that would be useful, are they're all on the small power armor size. And still they are not likely to be the most effective tool to use for a given situation. But they might be adaptable enough for a variety of situations to be worth working on. Military experiements into powered exoskeletons and 'iron man' style suits are more viable. That's really where Bubbles fits in. She can interact in environments built for humans, but is a lot physically tougher than a human. She would be a terror in any kind of CQC engagement scenario. She wouldn't be any good engaging in long range or open field battles, not any more than any human soldier on foot. But clearing buildings, going from room to room or in a built up urban environment? Oh heck yes. Especially in a pre-robot rights environment, I could easily see combat AIs like her sent into areas to check areas and buildings for any kind of hidden enemy or traps. They could take a lot more damage than a human could from an IED, and either be fixed up or rehoused into a new body a lot faster than a human soldier losing limbs.
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