Slashdot reports that Asimov's first law of robotics is being broken- by US Army robots fitted out with M249 or M240 machine guns. The SWORDS bots are ultimately controlled by a human - so they are, in effect, little more than big radio controlled cars with a high rate of fire.
The laws of robotics postulated by Asimov are-
1. A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Obviously robots intended for military or police work will not be able to function according to these laws. When - or if- the US military develops a truly autonomous robot capable of entering combat it will be interesting to see just what sort of rules it "lives" by.
I wonder what the tetravaal robots work on?
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