Last week, the FAA was looking into unmanned aircraft for commercial flights and this week, they have another, equally horrific idea: Let drones fly amongst regular aircraft and have them assist law enforcement. The thought of UAVs patrolling U.S. cities like it’s Waziristan is absolutely terrifying, but also inevitable according to author Alfred McCoy, who says a drawdown in military assets abroad will lead to an increase in many of those assets domestically.
May this never be built: “The Scarab Chase Assistant is an electric semi-autonomous police vehicle. When a speeder zips by, a cop electronically tags that car with radar, and then sends the Scarab scurrying after it.”
Team Obama can chalk off another kill by way of a Predator drone attack in Pakistan. Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, an Egyptian national and OG Al Qaeda founder and #3 on the U.S. list, reportedly died in a missile strike, but as the New York Times notes, we’ve heard that before. This time however, it’s true, cause even Al Qaeda is saying so.
Well, it looks like the Coast Guard is keeping its word and will start deploying drones over the Gulf of Mexico. The unmanned aerial vehicles that have become a hallmark of wartime insurgent-hunting in the Middle East—Pakistan in particular—will be used for “drug surveillance and rescue efforts,” according to UPI. Yea, until they get their next assignment. Maybe this author is onto something.
The Predator has established itself as quite a good human-hunter, but make way for the Excalibur and the new generation of drones that have the potential to kill even more effectively. |Wired/DangerRoom|
Japan never ceases to amaze with their hyper-technological advancements and steadfast dedication to replacing humanity with cyborgs. Their latest invention? A “fleshy robot hand” that “handles sushi like a pro” now, but will eventually be deployed to phase out just about every other job involving manual labor that humans do. |PinkTentacle|
Sure, it was “designed to help sick and elderly people relax and heal through Animal-Assisted therapy,” but these “therapeutic” baby seal robots are devious and prompt some ethical questions. A.) Is “Animal-Assisted therapy” still effective when using stuffed animals? B.) Do the patients have to be so “sick and elderly” that they think it’s the real thing? C.) Are we so ready to discard our old people to the point that lifeless robotic pets are taking care of them? Don’t be fooled by the puppy dog eyes, this is no cuddly seal, it’s a Trojan horse of Skynet proportions. You’ve been warned! |Inhabitots|
Editor-in-Chief:
