Re: [FT] Unpredictable AI

On Thu, 21 Jun 2001 15:17:17 +0200 (CEST), Derk Groeneveld
<derk@cistron.nl>
wrote:

>Besides, is it truly politically acceptable NOT to have a human in the
>loop of a weapon of (mass?) destruction? Do you think it will BECOME
>acceptable?

Now, THAT is a really good question. I think right now it isn't
acceptable. I
think it will become acceptable.

I'm not sure why I think this, except that during World War II Britain
used
woman to "man" anti-aircraft guns. For most of the war, women could do
anything involved in shooting the guns except one thing: pulling the
lanyard.
In other words, women could track an aircraft, load the weapon, aim the
weapon, prepare the weapon for firing, but it was considered
"inappropriate"
for a woman to the pull the trigger and kill a man. 

I can't remember if it changed by the end of the war, but certainly
today we
wouldn't have the same problems. I suspect something similar would occur
with
AIs. For one thing, western culture has no problems with cruise
missiles,
today. I think it would develop much the same way (the AI runs the
weapon, but
man created the AI).

Allan Goodall		       awg@sympatico.ca
Goodall's Grotto:  http://www.vex.net/~agoodall

"Now, see, if you combine different colours of light,
 you get white! Try that with Play-Doh and you get
 brown! How come?" - Alan Moore & Kevin Nolan,