Thread by @NGrossman81

(KILLER ROBOT THREAD)
Every development in humanoid robots gets followed by an outpouring of "the machines are taking over!" fears. Mostly kidding, but not completely.
I wrote a book on this stuff, and I can tell you the killer robots are coming, but they won't look like people.

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Fears of humanoid robots mostly come from science fiction, like the Terminator. Things that are like us, but stronger, faster, smarter, make for frightening villains. It goes way back. Robots, supervillains, demons, demigods, etc.
2/x

But there's no reason killer robots need 2 legs and 2 arms.
Skynet creates Terminators for a specific purpose: infiltration. They look like people so they can sneak into human bases, or travel into the past and ask people about Sarah Connor.
We have intel operatives for that
3/x

Hunter-killer ground robots will have four legs, not two. Better balance, and can run a lot faster.
Like this one👇
4/x

Whether on treads or legs, weapons-carrying robots will be smaller and lower to the ground than humans. Makes for a smaller target for enemies.
(BTW, in tests these models hit targets with perfect accuracy from distance. Unlike human snipers, they don't breathe)
5/x

And, of course, many killer robots will fly rather than walk or roll. Can move faster, and don't have to worry about ground obstacles.
There's the big missile-firing drones you've heard of, which can stay in the air for 24-36 hours. Can be more selective about when to fire.
6/x

And then there's small combat drones, like the Switchblade, a "non-line-of-sight" weapon that carries a grenade-sized charge and can kamikaze into targets.
7/x

But if we really get into a war with the machines, the biggest thing we'll have to worry about is probably drone swarms.
Humans have better situational awareness than drones, and will for a while (never say never). But robots can coordinate more efficiently.
8/x

Early drone swarms used a mothership to issue commands. But that means if the central drone malfunctions or gets damaged, the whole swarm stops working.
Now swarms use "emergent intelligence," like ants or bees. Individuals are dumb, but the group, effectively, is smart.
9/x

Each member of the drone swarm--like each ant or bee--follows simple rules in relation to each other. Follow the ant in front of you to get food. Don't get too close or too far from another drone in the swarm.
From these simple individual rules, group intelligence emerges.
10/x

Drone swarms have immense military potential, for both surveillance and combat. Also many dangerous implications.
The US Navy's already experimenting with a drone swarm called LOCUST. You can see (partial) test videos.
11/x

Terrorists, insurgents, and criminals will make use of drone swarms as well.
In January, a small swarm controlled by Syrian rebels attacked a Russian base. And last year, a gang in Colorado used a drone swarm to obstruct FBI agents as they tried to rescue hostages.
12/x

So while humanoid robots are often the bad guys in movies--Terminator, Ultron, the Will Smith version of I, Robot--the real killer machines of the future will be various shapes and sizes, with a superhuman ability to coordinate group actions.
Feel better now? 😄
13/x

I can hear my publisher @ibtauris in my head: "You wrote a thread on killer robots and you didn't plug the book? Plug the book!"
Ok fine. "Drones and Terrorism"--Covers some of the stuff in this thread and more unsettling awesomeness. Available now.
(END)
amazon.com/Drones-Terrori…