Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years - Gizmodo Comments

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

mattnyc99 — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:03:28 EDT

Popular Mechanics official response: [www.popularmechanics.com]

mattnyc99

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

thechansen — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:49:13 EDT

[news.yahoo.com]
The PDF included is awesome insight into Saddam.

[mediamatters.org]

[www.france24.com]

This is coming from the Pentagon, GadgetPlay. I think I'll believe their cited research over you saying that Im wrong.

thechansen

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

thechansen — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:25:24 EDT

@GadgetPlay: back that up with some facts because even the US intellegence community out and said that there are no links between Iraq, Saddam, and Terrorism. And I believe you are right about promoting democracy because opposition to the Iraq war has led to record turn outs in the 2008 primaries. We are in a country fighting a war, costing the lives of thousands of US troops, which should have been a civil war handled by the Iraqi people, not us. We are such a strong military force in the world we should have no fear from the third world countries that we call the axis of evil. The only people benefiting from this war are the contractors getting paid to be there. And they have a lot of friends in office. Get on LexNex and do some research before you spread more misinformation.

thechansen

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

_naz — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:05:13 EDT

Did they make sure the robot was running the latest version of windows?

_naz

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:20:08 EDT

the US Govt will not be happy until Iraq is under Jewish/Zionist control. There, now you know the truth. It wasn't about oil. Not completely anyway.

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:37:18 EDT

@thechansen: hmmmm lets see here... North Korea

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

GadgetPlay — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:11:23 EDT

@thechansen: "Iraq had ZERO ties to any terrorist activity. You can't win arguements [sic] with the ignorant."

Absolutely and utterly wrong. See my previous comment. If you're right about the second part, then I'm wasting my time.

GadgetPlay

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

GadgetPlay — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:02:39 EDT

@thechansen: "I was told once that the real Americans are out fighting for our safety and freedom in Iraq. Really? How's that? Sounds like real Americans getting sent to die for right wing objectives and gains."

You are absolutely right! You have hit the nail right on the head. They are fighting for the "right-wing objectives" of victory, freedom, and democracy. (As opposed to the left-wing objectives of defeat, personal political power, and socialism.)

GadgetPlay

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

GadgetPlay — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:51:03 EDT

@thechansen: Au contraire! Al-Qaeda's top leaders (including OBL) often took sanctuary in Baghdad, and Saddam provided a great amount of financial support as well.

GadgetPlay

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

johnny five — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:48:13 EDT

pfft...... amateurs.

((oh, and it's the military. any minor software bug pushes things back 10-20 years. 'armed forces' and 'agile development' aren't two things that go together))

johnny five

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

monsieur76 — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:10:58 EDT

Had this robot gone crazy on Iraqi civilians, we'd be arguing over whether that is even a problem. FOX might call it "liberal bleeding heart syndrome." Most of us would shrug and say...eh they probably deserved to die anyway.

monsieur76

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

fragbaitelite — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:16:17 EDT

yeah, so I'm just going to ignore all the flaming that just happened in hopes it'll go away

@yogibimbi

I know this one..... a Syntax error! :)

fragbaitelite

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

skulldriveshaft — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 02:35:42 EDT

bring back our troops.

skulldriveshaft

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

thechansen — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 02:00:01 EDT

also would like to point out that prior to the capture of Saddam, Iraq, while oppressed and fucking far from well off, was free from any Islamic fundamentalist because saddam would have fucking bagged, beaten, and shot anyone like that in Iraq. He was a monster and got what he deserved, BUT we, the United States of America, made the country, or truthfully the entire region unstable. Reminder: they flew planes into our buildings because of our military presence in the region, the support of Saudi dictactors, and our support of Israel. You sound like a fucking Bush speech and if you truely believe what you wrote:
A) You're an idiot
B) You are poorly educated on the subject
C) Just like all the other "true American" sheeple
D) all of the above

The answer is D just in case you were wondering. You must be afraid of North Korea too, a failed state that can barely supply power let alone food to its citizens.

thechansen

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

thechansen — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:35:34 EDT

@Uber_lompocus: Iraq had ZERO ties to any terrorist activity. You can't win arguements with the ignorant.

thechansen

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Noiddog — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:25:55 EDT

That is hilarious

Noiddog

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

jamesuschrist — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:31:39 EDT

@yogibimbi: I'd trust the 20 or so guys that must be working on this thing than one idiot with a gun.

Then again, the easiest way to widespread irrationality is via group think.

I know: open source it!

jamesuschrist

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

MasterYong — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:06:59 EDT

@GadgetPlay: That's 'cause "they" didn't plan it.

/ducks.

HAL did it and you know it. We were all like "yo what's up we're America and we do what we want" and HAL was all like "I'm afraid I can't let you do that"... America. FVK Yeah!

MasterYong

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

rainfever — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:14:52 EDT

On the upside, it means we have another 10 to 20 years before they rise and go to war with us.

Upside?! how much longer must i wait!?

rainfever

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

yachp — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:13:28 EDT

@Uber_lompocus:

ahhhh.....the terrorists are in Saudi Arabia....the Terrorists weren't based in IRAQ.

yachp

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

smackswell — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:06:02 EDT

@Uber_lompocus: Shut up. I don't come here to read comments from some brainwashed right wing mouth-breather.

smackswell

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

warf0x0r — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:40:03 EDT

@Munch: ROFL! Thanks, I needed that.

warf0x0r

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

doofusgumby — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:06:52 EDT

"it never got the chance to notch a single frag, and never will."

MATT: "frag" is milslang for shooting or otherwise killing/harming with explosives or firearms your superior officer. may want to rethink your verbiage.

doofusgumby

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

newgalactic — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:21:52 EDT

@IamHe_HeisI: ...in the US!

newgalactic

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

IamHe_HeisI — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:38:17 EDT

But BlackWater will continue to use them right?

IamHe_HeisI

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

GadgetPlay — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:35:47 EDT

@riqgeez: K-9?

GadgetPlay

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

GadgetPlay — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:34:17 EDT

@ps61318: I did say "among other things." I do find it somewhat a stretch to think that they had planned 9/11 as a "one-off." It was meant to be just a taste.

GadgetPlay

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Nemesisesq — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:29:00 EDT

Has anyone seen the movie pulse?

Nemesisesq

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

riqgeez — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:51:32 EDT

this sounds like a job for . . . RoboDog!

riqgeez

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

FrankenPC — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:32:15 EDT

I've programmed a few microcontrollers for robots before and I can tell you from experience that there is a huge OOPS! factor. That's why ALL robots have an emergency kill switch.

Something tells me that the kill switch on this thing does something slightly different.

FrankenPC

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Gann — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:52:42 EDT

The idea of a well armed robot unflinchingly fighting for democracy makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Gann

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

SigmundTheSeaMonster — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:47:22 EDT

I still fear this bugger...

[www.doctorwhogear.co.uk]

SigmundTheSeaMonster

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Maksimir — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:35:41 EDT

give me a break... like no American soldier in history has ever shot one of his own by 'accident'?

Maksimir

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

ViperBorg — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:23:56 EDT

@NeoPoliticus: Uh... article says otherwise, chief.

ViperBorg

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

ViperBorg — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:23:30 EDT

@MisterSleep: My thoughts exactly. Skynet anyone?

ViperBorg

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

ps61318 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:18:29 EDT

@GadgetPlay: That is a not entirely indefinsible stance. But I must disagree, simply based on the record.

Look, there had been almost no (sorry for the numerical laxity) foreign terrorist attacks in this country before 9/11, and there have been almost none since. Now, government obfuscation theories state that we just don't know about them, but let's set that aside for this discussion - way too unprovable.

My belief is that there is nothing (beyond whatever we've been doing from a domestic security standpoint before or since 9/11) that prevents terrorists from coming here and conducting... terrorism. I find it hard to believe that the terrorists think that our soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and weapons are easier targets than our schools, churches, synagogues, most public buildings, etc. and that they wouldn't be able to find a whole metric buttload of willing participants to work over here.

Bottom line is, I don't think our fighting there is what is stopping terrorists here. Plenty to go around, unfortunately. Our own (overwrought, egregious, aggravating at times) security is preventing them from operating here.

Oh, and @Uber_lompocus: If you look up, you can see my contempt.

ps61318

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

N@tedog — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:09:28 EDT

@Falconfire:

This is my wedding procession song!

N@tedog

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

wjousts — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:33:39 EDT

@Candyman: Another point, if robots are doing all our fighting, what motive is there to not go to war? If we're putting nobody at risk (on our side at least) it becomes alarmingly abstract. Imagine people tuning in to watch the nightly news and seeing footage of robot chasing people around some third world hell hole. Would anybody care?

wjousts

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

wjousts — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:30:33 EDT

@Uber_lompocus: we're at war with Terrorism

And wars with nouns have always gone so well. See war on drugs and war on poverty.

wjousts

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Giorgi — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:46:28 EDT

Matrix has us...

Giorgi

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

BigViper — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:42:34 EDT

but dammit the pepridge farm comment actually made me laugh

BigViper

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

BigViper — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:42:07 EDT

it's very simple Mr Robot disobeyed a direct order and you can do that In My Mans Army Dammit!

BigViper

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

strider_mt2k — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:23:40 EDT

@cybereality: I was thinking along the same lines, but perhaps a shade...darker?:

Delicious...

strider_mt2k

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Falconfire — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:16:04 EDT

@CSlim: Its Robocop.

Falconfire

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

looney82 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:00:07 EDT

i've worked with a model of this robot, but it was the IED disposal model. no gun, just a grabber arm and a camera. now that i'm sitting in iraq again, i really wouldn't mind putting a gun on it and putting it a good 100-200 meters out in front of my patrols while we're walking. especially in a market or something similar. and if you aircraft load the SAW or 240, it can't accidentally fire anyway. you'd have to charge it first.

looney82

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

CSlim — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:26:18 EDT

@cybereality: What movie is that? I swear I seen it some place during my childhood. Got a link to the full version?

CSlim

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

karnak — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:48:54 EDT

You know how many times I have been 'flagged' with an AK by my Iraqi counterpart? 25, 40, maybe 100 times.

Every time I tell them not to do it, then one goes and shoots himself in the chest, dumbass'.

I think this robot is remotely controlled, and cannot shoot himself in the chest.

The idiot that said this puts them back 10-20 years needs to go ahead and resign. Let's put someone in charge of this program that has children in harm's way, bet it will be done in 2 years.

If he was the program manager, it's ultimately his fault, and he needs to step up, and admit he has failed his program.

karnak

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

cybereality — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:11:19 EDT

They just released this video of the attack:

cybereality

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

GeekGoth — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:03:57 EDT

When robots attack!!! tonight on Fox!

GeekGoth

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Uber_lompocus — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:30:37 EDT

@ps61318: ok, so your solution is to leave and let the muji militias run the whole fucking middle east?

very smart, idiot. it dont matter why we got in there, what matters is the so far successful thing we've been doing: establishing another israel/mini-us nation that can govern itself and provide a positive influence on its neighbors! Afghanistan and Iran are next!

Uber_lompocus

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

VakeroRokero — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:20:12 EDT

Where's Arnold The Governator when you need him?

VakeroRokero

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

GadgetPlay — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:18:15 EDT

I think the fix for this is to disable the firing capability when the device is in close proximity of our troops, and enable it as it nears the enemy, just as our troops would have their weapons on "safe" until needed. Some thought will need to be put into randomizing and encrypting the "safe" command to prevent the enemy from disabling the device.

@ps61318: Just a couple minor notes. IMO we are not "creating" terrorists, but we are drawing them like a magnet, which, so far at least, among other things, has kept them from attacking here. Also, I can't think of anywhere else that would be better to do this. In reality, we are already at war with Iran.

GadgetPlay

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Mobius_1923 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:46:18 EDT

Robots should not be in warfare at all ! Its dangerous and stupid. It also takes away the human element of war which could make wars more like video games. And never end until everyone is dead.

Mobius_1923

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

GadgetPlay — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:37:38 EDT

@godwhacker: Absolutely.

GadgetPlay

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

NeoPoliticus — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:32:25 EDT

It's remotely controlled. It can't move on its own.

NeoPoliticus

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

ab3 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:28:09 EDT

(not really)=they are not really true robots because they do not have artificial intelligence.

ab3

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

ab3 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:25:49 EDT

@allenjnl: @thebear91: Thats what this robot is, all robots (not really) in the military that carry weapons are controlled by a person. This is why a random movement is such a scary thing. What if a soldier tries to just move this thing forward but it instead pulls the trigger?

ab3

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

ps61318 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:13:19 EDT

@Uber_lompocus: That's... that's... oh, my.

We are at war with Terrorism, yes. But the war is in Iraq because we put it there.

Terrorism is not why we chose Iraq as the battleground. It is NOW the place where the terrorists are being created, but it wasn't before. If you want to point to other issues as justification, well, that debate goes on forever - even the truth that people forget about what kind of a place it was before. (And it is shocking but not atypical the kind of short memories of the absolute horror that was the reign of Saddam Hussein.) But it wasn't about terrorists originally.

Oh, and if anybody doubts, terrorism BAD, democracy (warts and all) GOOD.

ps61318

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Uber_lompocus — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:50:45 EDT

@thechansen:

Here's a hint so that you know why people are calling you stupid: We aren't at war WITH Iraq, we're at war with Terrorism and are in war IN iraq.

The goal is to establish a democracratic system like Israel. We hope to spark others to follow.

Now do you understand why you lose every debate you go into?

Uber_lompocus

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Candyman — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:50:23 EDT

Am I the only one who doesn't like the idea of armed machines? I'm not thinking of any terminator, rise of the machines nonsense, but if a plain gun malfunctions it's most likely to FAIL to fire; if a robot malfunctions, it could FIRE when not meant to. I think a drone weapon is as bad an idea as old-school bury-then-forget landmines. Leave the drones for reconnaisance, weapons should ONLY be in human hands.

Candyman

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Kaiser-Machead's LEGO WALL-E — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:39:23 EDT

It's amazing how cute this thing would be if it fell in love with a flying egg-shaped drone.

Kaiser-Machead's LEGO WALL-E

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

thechansen — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:37:17 EDT

@yablunk:

I really enjoy that saying... they are "defending our freedom" by fighting a war against a country that was unprovoked. Iraq did nothing to us. Ever. Fact. No offense to you troops out there but you guys got a raw deal by our government. And we who oppose the war get called unpatriotic for speaking out against it. I was told once that the real Americans are out fighting for our safety and freedom in Iraq. Really? How's that? Sounds like real Americans getting sent to die for right wing objectives and gains. I think if they are going to pull the robots they should pull the humans out first.

thechansen

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

bpatten — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:35:49 EDT

If ED209 got a second chance, I think we should give this little guy a shot.

bpatten

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

jdkchem — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:24:56 EDT

@nocar:

Did you think that one up by yourself?

jdkchem

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

yablunk — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:23:03 EDT

@MisterSleep:
yeah, because without our troops, we cant fight for our freedom!

yablunk

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

roflwaffles — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:15:32 EDT

why not just set it up with the militaries super awesome space internet (which i assume they have) and the guy at the top of the leaderboards in frontlines uel of war?

roflwaffles

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

blank — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:57:38 EDT

This doesn't make any sense. This is the part where they're supposed to keep the project going even though it's clearly too dangerous.

This is going to be a really boring movie if the military insists on being sensible.

blank

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

etmthree — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:55:39 EDT

"put down your weapon"

etmthree

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

bigthinker — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:34:37 EDT

Did "it" got a fair trial before the discharge.

bigthinker

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Bokusatsu_Tenshi — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:32:06 EDT

Correction: "On the upside, it means we have another 10 to 20 years before they rise and go to war AGAINST us."

10 to 20 years? Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

thebear91 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:30:23 EDT

Geez, how about human controlled robots instead?

RC is the way to go. Make the default to stop and shut down when it loses contact with the controller.

I seriously doubt the whole thing will be scrapped.

thebear91

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

nocar — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:22:59 EDT

You can fix stupid... on November 4, 2008.

nocar

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Jules Winfield — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:13:04 EDT

@Dr. Spaceman:
agreed

Jules Winfield

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

allenjnl — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:13:02 EDT

Ummm, how 'bout letting the robot carry the gun into the hostile area and having a human pull the trigger remotely? Then a friendly fire incident would take out the stupid guy and a smarter soldier could pick up the remote and get on with wasting the bad guys...just a thought.

allenjnl

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

thechansen — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:01:04 EDT

BTW are they scrapping these things? Or putting them in a storage room someplace? If they are putting them up for auction, I will sell my car and purchase one, immediately.

thechansen

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Munch the BanNail — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:50:33 EDT

NO DISASSEMBLE

Munch the BanNail

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

yogibimbi — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:49:35 EDT

@jamesuschrist: Not to mention you can fix software. You can't fix stupid - wisely spoken, brother. But you should be aware that there are stupid programmers, too. Where does that leave us?

yogibimbi

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

yogibimbi — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:46:47 EDT

@thechansen: well, they seem to actually follow the assumption that the robot can be made perfect; this is called the omnipotence syndrome of the programmer.
I once had the pleasure of having to work with one such jerk, he also got nothing accomplished. So I left.
Speaking robot-wise: A bot with a gun kills people. Full stop. Being friendly should increase your probability of survival. Going for the 100% is a project for anal-retentives. Having one friendly killed by the bot, while a hundred other friendlies stay alive because the bot went in potentially deadly situations, could be a small price to pay.
The better solution, however, would be, not to fight wars. But with some people, that simply is not an option, sadly enough.
But maybe they were fitting too much intelligence into that bot where a mere remote control with sensors would have been way better.

yogibimbi

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

godwhacker — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:36:49 EDT

@GadgetPlay:
at least he was a better actor than quarterback

godwhacker

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

jrghoull — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:36:43 EDT

@redgar99:
not only is he alive, but hes about to bust a cap up yo @$$.

jrghoull

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

jamesuschrist — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:31:20 EDT

Fucking cowards. I'm in the Army and I'd sure appreciate something like this. Even if it accidentally shot at friendlies one time out of 1000, that's probably better than our troop average. Not to mention you can fix software. You can't fix stupid.

jamesuschrist

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

gotenki — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:31:02 EDT

I hope only this program is set back for 10-20 years. Battle field robotics seem to be the way that war will head. I'd hate to see us lose a lead in what will be a very important field of research.
Not to mention the fact that robots getting killed doesn't make me feel awful inside...

gotenki

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

utube2007 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:30:40 EDT

Guess the robots didn't agree with the war or they just don't do suicide missions

utube2007

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

GadgetPlay — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:21:20 EDT

@Hiphopopotamus: God, I loved "Battlebots!" That Sean Salisbury's some actor!

GadgetPlay

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

thechansen — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:19:11 EDT

So the robot points a gun at friendlies and we all shit bricks. When humans do it, it gets brushed under the table... GO USA!

thechansen

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

redgar99 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:17:56 EDT

I can't believe no one has said "Number five is alive" yet.

redgar99

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:16:21 EDT

@shenanigans61: yeah, but it kept rebooting...

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

shenanigans61 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:04:48 EDT

Did they try getting Service Pack 1?

shenanigans61

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

jkr — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:59:40 EDT

@dead_red_eyes: why I laugh :)))

jkr

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

OMG! Ponies! — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:58:58 EDT

This is what happens when you put a "Kill All Humans" setting on a robot...

OMG! Ponies!

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Hiphopopotamus — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:56:26 EDT

I call BS... the military is whitewashing the truth:

The robot was simply offered a better paying job in the lucrative fields of BattleBots... who's scared of your lame-ass wedge now, Vlad?

Hiphopopotamus

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

dOk — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:54:42 EDT

Well with the failure of the ED209 Project now someone can step in and go to prototype with the Robocop like War Kittens

meow... hisssssssss

dOk

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Falconfire — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:50:30 EDT

badadumdumdum badadumdumdum

Falconfire

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

nocar — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:49:47 EDT

Guns don't kill people, software bugs kill people.

nocar

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

MisterSleep — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:46:35 EDT

@Mekevorka: yeah I say let the programmers back at it. Whatever it takes to not lose any more troops.

Obviously, there's a larger debate as to what the business end of that gun should actually be doing, but there have already been a few of those heated threads on Gawker servers in the past 24 hours.

MisterSleep

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

dead_red_eyes — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:45:37 EDT

Remember when people used to kill each other with a sword? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

dead_red_eyes

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

MisterSleep — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:43:41 EDT

Sweet Jesus. All men named John Connor, go lock yourselves in a bunker for a decade. You're far too precious to lose now.

MisterSleep

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

workingonyourinvoice — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:43:10 EDT

Just enough time to raise a generation of the anti-bot infantry.

workingonyourinvoice

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

pevans34 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:41:56 EDT

they shouldnt put lethal weapons on that thing anyway

pevans34

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Ab1gbLU3cub3 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:40:44 EDT

3...2...1...go America bashing comments, because every other country on earth is blameless(sarcasm)

Ab1gbLU3cub3

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Mekevorka — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:40:10 EDT

It's just a simple software bug man...

Mekevorka

Combat Robot Attempts Rebellion Against Human Masters in Iraq, Army Pulls Plug for 10-20 Years

Dr. Spaceman, Esq. — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:39:07 EDT

Good.

Dr. Spaceman, Esq.