Can Robots Be Guilty Of War Crimes?

The not so distant future is rapidly approaching, and anyone who is an enthusiast of the Discovery Channel or Science channel on cable should already be all too aware of the Robot warriors on the battle fields. The two most visible is the flying drone, the other the robot tank that assists troops in the field. (see video below)

This technology pales in comparison to the new stuff on the drawing board, imagine Asimo meets Rambo the perfect robot killer programmed like the freaky killer robots featured in the movie RoboCop."

What new questions will this technology bring to admonish the wrongdoing of others. As a computer expert here at the Computerfox in Milford, I can personally express my disgust with the classic excuse "my computer malfunctioned and therefore you cannot be assisted properly." War robots will give the Pentagon leaders some new ways of admonishing their responsibility when one of their robots malfunction and kill 150 civilians, 23 U.S. Soldiers, and 54 children.

The question of ethics will remain long into the future as to wether or not we can courtmarshall a robot? There will be no one to hold accountable as everyone will be separated and distanced from the crime it has committed even the programmers who certainly will have the robot code classified and protected by the evil of the Pentagon as a national security issue.

We can assume that these nightmarish robots will be adapted at some point in the not so distant future to police urban centers and big cities. They will more likely start off by accompanying bomb squads, assisting SWAT teams, and eventually hand you a parking or speeding ticket. This technology will pose the same troubling questions that were debated back in the 80's when HAL in the "Odyssey" nearly killed everyone on board the space ship for their own protection. Sound familiar? Check it out you decide.

Blackwater Corp. Mercinaries in "Hot Water."

The news has been very critical of Blackwater in the last several weeks. The accusations are that Blackwater has used lethal force against citizens of Iraq for no justified reason and engaged in illegal arms trading. This article today is going to look into the Blackwater criticism and hopefully give today's readers a better understanding of how this private security force conducts its operations.

First let's define Blackwater, (this information comes from http://www.blackwaterusa.com/) Blackwater is a private corporation currently working under the U.S. Government, they provide assistance in the form of Aviation, Maritime, K9 Attack dogs, an Airborne style military, and security services. While it is difficult to assess the the total paramilitary employees this company has, estimates are 1000 multinational paramilitary soldiers in Iraq, and as high as 40,000 internationally. These personnel have come under fire for many reasons and the public has become increasingly sceptical of their involvement in the global war theater.

Abc News recently has reported accusations that Blackwater has been smuggling weapons into Iraq, weapons that have landed in the hands of Militants who are intent at using them to kill American soldiers. (See the ABC News archive at http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=blackwater&type=


Currently I have been actively investigating the scope of purpose of Blackwater, and I have heard a variety of reasons as to why they are benefiting the U.S. I still am not entirely certain on their usefulness. Hopefully the above captioned video helps get a novice started on understanding this company and the accusations against them. I believe that Blackwater may even be a CIA front company.