Archive

Posts Tagged ‘war’

Opinion Essay: Robots > Humans

April 1st, 2009

War has changed by leaps and bounds in the past decade due to the introduction of truly inexpensive robotics technology. War no longer requires sending a human soldier into a hostile battlefield. Robots that cost only a few thousand dollars are now able to engage enemies either with assistance from a human remote operator or even completely autonomously. If a machine were to be destroyed during a mission there are few repercussions for the force that owned the machine, other than the need to order a replacement. This contrasts greatly to wartimes in the past where casualties resulted in funerals and grieving families. As the use of mechanized soldiers increases, humans will no longer be required on the front line, causing the removal of all moral judgment from military actions.

The force with the best machines has Read more…

College , ,

Terrorism Prevention: At What Cost?

December 18th, 2008

The United States of America is more resistant to terrorist attacks than ever before because of recent policies, inducing the Bush Doctrine and The Patriot Act, but the huge economic and social consequences may negate many long term benefits. Our military has deployed troops to several different countries in order to combat terrorist groups. Without this military action, it is extremely likely that terrorism would have been a much larger threat than it is today. The troops have done an admirable job defending us from the hostile terrorist forces, and many Americans are no longer concerned with the possibility of dying in a terrorist attack. There has not been a major terrorist attack on American soil since September 11th 2001. Our government has spent vast sums of money to attempt to make sure that an event of that magnitude never happens again. In order to reduce the risk of such attacks, many ethically questionable policies have become standard practice. One such policy is the Patriot Act, which allows for warrant-less wiretapping, reading online communications, and adding citizens to do-not-fly lists, to name a few. Although the country as a whole is safer from terrorist attacks because of these measures, the cost for this added safety negatively impacts our civil liberties, domestic preparedness, and economics, which is more than citizens should be reasonably expected to bear.
Read more…

College ,