[Wodgy]

One of those strange stories you've only seen in science fiction, until now:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/weapons/r...s-9-312443.php

 

[Zarathustra19]

wow. The robot invasion has begun a little sooner than I had anticipated.

 

[GAD]

I for one welcome our new metal.... oh forget it

GAD

 

[robm321]

Come with me if you want to live

 

[yage]

Usually these types of weapons systems are controlled by a human, such as the CROWS that have been mounted on HMMWVs in Iraq, and computers are used for calculating ballistics/targeting - so I think it's a bit premature to say that they've taken over.

In any case, I bet it was a runaway gun and the standard response for that malfunction is to break the ammunition belt.

 

[wes.coleman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GAD /img/forum/go_quote.gif I for one welcome our new metal.... oh forget it GAD

I see what you did there...

 

[Quaddy]

"you have ten seconds to comply"

Gee Whizz

GAD, activate skynet quick...

 

[Trippytiger]

I know that this is a pretty tragic incident, but I can't help but think that that is the coolest headline I've ever read.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yage /img/forum/go_quote.gif Usually these types of weapons systems are controlled by a human, such as the CROWS that have been mounted on HMMWVs in Iraq, and computers are used for calculating ballistics/targeting - so I think it's a bit premature to say that they've taken over. In any case, I bet it was a runaway gun and the standard response for that malfunction is to break the ammunition belt.

You should read the article - this cannon was operating completely autonomously.

 

[electrathecat]

"The Skynet Funding Bill is passed. The system goes on-line August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug."

Just a little later than expected.

 

[Wodgy]

Knowing the quality of programming being done in some of the weapons contractors, I'm not entirely optimistic this won't happen again....

They're lucky it was just a vehicle-mounted, slow-firing cannon though. Imagine if the Phalanx cannon (the R2-D2 looking thing on Navy ships that fires up to 7,000 rounds per minute) ever went nuts! Could kill everyone on deck, and a good deal of people below deck. Probably sink the ship too. The Phalanx units are also much more autonomous than these Oerlikon systems -- they need to be, they shoot at incoming, fast-moving missiles -- and I don't doubt their code has bugs as well.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Killer military robots are built by the lowest bidder.

 

[GlorytheWiz825]

Geeze, that is insane. That's one serious software bug. I feel very sorry for the people in the way.

 

[amphead]

Not worth getting within a hundred miles!

 

[fordgtlover]

The smarter we get - the dumber we get.

If Windows has a software glitch - reboot. If your computer controlled Oerlikon GDF-005 anti-aircraft gun has a software glitch - get the ****** out of the way.

Are the subtle differences in consequences lost on the military?

This is why IA is still so far away - we still have to program it. Who wants their butler to GPF?

 

[marvin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif The smarter we get - the dumber we get. If Windows has a software glitch - reboot. If your computer controlled Oerlikon GDF-005 anti-aircraft gun has a software glitch - get the ****** out of the way. Are the subtle differences in consequences lost on the military?

Find me a human with the reflexes and skill to shoot down a modern fighter bomber without computer assistance and the software won't be necessary. That or find me a mechanical method to perform the same task. Until then, using software for mission critical tasks has been and will continue to be a necessary evil.

Sure, weapons design with a heavy software component trades off reliability for capability, but that's something that man has done since he traded his club in for a stone axe.

And really, if there was a weapons that failed like this, this one would have been it. Reading farther would show that the AA vehicle was a shoddy hack of an existing system. With the apartheid era arms embargo in place, South Africa could not import any newer weapons and decided to fully automate the AA guns they had. Oerlikon said it wasn't possible. Armscor still went ahead without Oerlikon's support. And well, modification of an unsuitable platform, by a company with chronic underfunding, and no manufacturer support usually doesn't lead to the best outcomes.