Cool Weapons

[Lamplighter]

It depends on your (relative) POV... a lot !

Daily Mail Online
Damien Gayle
11/27/12

A human will always decide when a robot kills you:
Pentagon's 'reassurance' over fears of machine apocalypse

Department of Defense policy directive calls for autonomous weapons
to be designed so they always need human authorisation to open fire

Promise comes after Human Rights Watch report warned that
killer robots could be deployed on the battlefield within 20 years<snip>



Automatic death: Samsung's machine gun sentry robot, which is already
in use in South Korea, can spot unusual activity, challenge intruders and,
when authorised by a human controller, open fire<snip>

Steve Goose, arms division director at Human Rights Watch, added:

However, the [Pentagon's] directive does leave the way completely open
for increased autonomy in a range of military robots that aren't intended as killing machines.
It '[d]oes not apply to autonomous or semi-autonomous cyberspace systems
for cyberspace operations; unarmed, unmanned platforms; unguided munitions;
munitions manually guided by the operator (e.g., laser- or wire-guided munitions);
mines; or unexploded explosive ordnance,' the policy says.

That means the Pentagon does not need to apply similar safeguards
when developing computer viruses, bugs or surveillance drones.

As Wired puts it: 'While everyone’s worried about preventing the Rise of the Machines,
the machines are getting a pass to spy on you, under their own power.'

And if you believe this policy will be followed the world over...

[Lamplighter]

As a kid, I built a model of the USS Enterprise (CV-6),
and learned a fair bit of world history and geography.
... a very special ship in WW II

ABC News
BROCK VERGAKIS Associated Press
December 2, 2012

USS Enterprise Carrier Taken out of Active Service

The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was retired
from active service on Saturday, temporarily reducing the number of carriers
in the U.S. fleet to 10 until 2015.<snip>

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was the eighth U.S. ship to bear
the name Enterprise, but it won't be the last.

USS*Enterprise*(CV-6) Yorktown-class aircraft carrier (12 May 1938 – 17 February 1947),
the seventh ship to bear this name, served with unparalleled distinction in World War II,
becoming the most-decorated vessel in the history of the U.S. Navy.

USS*Enterprise*(CVN-65) Enterprise-class aircraft carrier (25 November 1961 – Present),
the eighth ship to bear this name, is a unique design, and the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
It is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2013.

USS*Enterprise*(CVN-80) "Ford"-class aircraft carrier, the ninth ship to bear the name
As of June 6, 2011, there was a petition circulating online to
eventually name CVN-80 as "USS Enterprise".[1].
On 1 December 2012, at the decommissioning of CVN-65, the Secretary of the Navy
announced that CVN-80 would be named USS Enterprise. [2]

[Griff]

Now we can finally get started on that warp drive.

[Lamplighter]

Engage !

Aye, Aye, Captain.