Ethics in Engineering

[Robot]

I started a thread earlier about a man eating military robot:

Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News - FOXNews.com


When I was in College, all engineering students had to take a "Ethics in Engineering" course. This course pointed out many ethics questions, such as would you help engineer nuclear weapons.

One side of the coin is that "mutually assured destruction"(MAD), has helped to keep the peace. The other side is, who wants to help build an incinerator for humans.

Anyway, I dont think I would want to have anything to do with programming,designing,etc,etc a human eating robot.

What do you say?

[Dino]

I think it is a little hype to say it is a human eating robot, Robot. It consumes biomass and turns it into fuel. Yes this could include human bodies but it is a pretty large leap to think that it actually would. Todays battlefield are not littered with bodies like there were in wars past so the possiblilty of it actually happening is pretty remote.

I do agree that designing a robot to exclusively feed off of dead bodies is wrong.

[FastBusa]

Why start down that road?

[Yorad]

How WOULD this thing decipher what or who is alive or dead? I can just imagine these things picking fingers off injured or unconscious soldiers.

From what I can tell the part about being able to eat dead people is just transparent marketing hype. It sounds like it can just use about anything, but it's not interesting or controversial to say it can use moldy pancakes and tree leaves for fuel.

They should also mention it can run on baby seal eyes and puppy legs if they really want some mileage with this article.

[Mr Bogus]

not that large of a stretch... SHC has shown that the body is about 99.9 consumable...
(and to play devils advocate and irritate a couple of the libs)

The dead body to me is just a stinky mass of meat and needs disposed of anyway...

To some, it is some temple that needs a ceremonious send off and so they might have a problem with it being turned into bio-fuel.. Leave that open as an option.. (like an organ donor card)

If you believe in cremation, a greener friendlier earth, carbon foot prints, responsible consumption... well this just fits every point.. We save a ton of resources with this system.. (if you are an easily offended lib, you might want to skip the rest of this post)

there will be no wasted earth to bury the body, calories (from bio fuel) are used for something more than feeding an incinerator or worms, and we save a few gallons of fuel not transporting body, save a tree or two from no casket, and then no fuel to build casket, no hauling the box to the funeral home, digging a hole, and the lights in the morgue... Heck you probably a couple hundred carbon credits back that you could give to the illegal aliens marching across the desert...

Probably save 100 gallons of fossil fuel alone.. (even more if you gotta fly the body back on a jet)

Just have a "Robo Funeral" with superimposed casket and grave site and then just like soylent green... Oreo cookies baby! Then RoboMorgue can move on to the next guy or kill the " dis-adnvantaged 3rd world" combatant (that we now mirandize on the battle field for trial in the USA for killing people in a war zone..

This is a gold mine of debate

"war is hell" right?

[Dino]

Originally Posted by Mr Bogus

"war is hell" right?

If you don't know you should not be asking the question.

[Mr Bogus]

Originally Posted by Dino

If you don't know you should not be asking the question.

:cough: is a quote from Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman circa 1865

[Lurch]

Here is my question about this.
According to the "Laws for Robots" for the layman, robots are not allowed to hurt a human in ANY WAY. Is a dead human still human and is it being hurt? If the answer to these question is YES, then this robot does not meet the requirments.

What is the RIA's position on this?

[Mr Bogus]

Originally Posted by Lurch

Here is my question about this.
According to the "Laws for Robots" for the layman, robots are not allowed to hurt a human in ANY WAY. Is a dead human still human and is it being hurt? If the answer to these question is YES, then this robot does not meet the requirments.

What is the RIA's position on this?

Asimov once added a "Zeroth Law"—so named to continue the pattern of lower-numbered laws superseding in importance the higher-numbered laws—stating that a robot must not merely act in the interests of individual humans, but of all humanity.

if decaying bodies pose a threat to live humans, then I think it fits in nicely... the dead/decomposing do pose health risk to live people..

Does open the door to some other more troubling issues however... Madoff (fine Democrat he was) really hurt a lot of people... does this provide for a robot to extinguish him? This sort of goes up against some of the military's new robot warriors already... slippery slope we are on huh?

[Dino]

Originally Posted by Mr Bogus

:cough: is a quote from Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman circa 1865

He made it as a statement from someone who had been there and seen it.

You posed it as a question. So I said if you don't know and have to ask, maybe you shouldn't. For those of us who have been there, we don't have to ask.

[Mr Bogus]

Originally Posted by Dino

He made it as a statement from someone who had been there and seen it.

You posed it as a question. So I said if you don't know and have to ask, maybe you shouldn't. For those of us who have been there, we don't have to ask.

Tell ya what...

it is your forum.. you should probably complain with your brother to have this thread removed as well.... "rhetorical" is something you may learn some day.. but I sort of doubt it...

tell ya what, I am going to leave this board..

I personally think they made a mistake allowing your somewhat dim witted line of logic back here.. I am sure you are a way better person than I am and will undoubtedly bring more to this site than I will...

Just tired of your shallow minded thought process that seems to make every American a "bad guy" ..

I for one am proud of my country and glad for the most part, it has improved the world as a whole.. There is not a society around that has not made mistakes.. (just like the org letting you come back here) I certainly do not dwell on the problems and do what I can to make things better rather than piss and moan about all the bad things others have done... (you should give your home up to a native American if you are so pure of heart btw)

I will check back in a month or two....

[Robot]

Perhaps by law, your organ donor card will make this acceptable

C'mon Bogus, your my wingman, please dont go

[Yorad]

Bogus I hope you're just making a point and not really disappearing. You bring a lot to the group here.

This is the 2nd time this week I've seen someone mention leaving because of the Dino's comments in case anyone is keeping score.

Dino: You're hitting about a 9.5 on the scale right now. How about bringing it down to a 4.5 or so and make an apology now and then when you pi$$ someone off?

Incidentally, if anyone does decide to be pure of heart, I'm part Native American so if you want to do the right thing and give me 1/32 of the equity in your house I'll graciously accept.

[dadofthree]

We kill someone but shouldn't use their remains as a source of fuel.

[Busa Jules]

[BA BUSA]

[afterhours]

ethics.....for robots?

ethics on the battlefield?

any discusion of ethics is relative. it is easy to discuss what is right or wrong from the comfort of a keyboard.....

the fact is...those that has seen combat have a different understanding of what is ethical and what is not...in the real world, ethics can be set aside if it means the difference between seeing your wife and kids again....

"There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell." W. T. Sherman, April 11, 1880

"I confess, without shame, I am sick and tired of fighting—its glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies, with the anguish and lamentations of distant families, appealing to me for sons, husbands and fathers ... tis only those who have never heard a shot, never heard the shriek and groans of the wounded and lacerated ... that cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation" W.T. Sherman, July 1865

[kml]

For those who selected all fair in war, would it still be fair if it was a Irainian muslim robot that was snacking on dead marines? Would that be fair? Why not? And why does that line of argument not apply to the other side?

cheers
ken

[Dino]

Originally Posted by Yorad

You are no longer here on this forum? You must be really mad! I'm sorry you feel so hurt to take such drastic action.

Dino, WWJD actually makes 3 this week I guess. I was talking about someone else who wanted to leave from your comments this week.

I still want to know how these robots decide who is dead and who is just disabled or unconscious if they are going to eat bodies.

The other was last week. Get it straight.

[Yorad]

Originally Posted by Dino

The other was last week. Get it straight.

Hahaha. I stand corrected I guess. I'm not sure if it really was last week or not. I meant 7 days and not a calendar week, but I'll just take your word for it.

Ok, let's not clutter up this thread with anymore unrelated nonsense. My posts here will be related to to flesh eating robots from here on out; scout's honor.