The Shape of Things to Come?
With acknowledgements to H. G. Wells.
I’ll offer that, at least, 80% of the jobs on US Navy ships could practically be performed by robots…At least until something breaks – for now anyway.
This story certainly demonstrates a step down that road: “Navy’s Self-Guided, Unmanned Patrol Boats Make Debut“, There is more at Navy.mil
One key paragraph from the ABC story that struck me:
“The rigid-hull inflatable patrol boats can also fire .50 caliber machine guns if called upon to do so. However, a human will always be the one to make the decision to use lethal force, officials said. A sailor on a command ship would be in charge of each of the unmanned boats and could take control over any of the boats at any moment. And if communication between the unmanned boats and the sailor overseeing them were ever broken, the boat would automatically shut down.”
All you Ex-Swabbies imagine reporting aboard the USS Commander Data AND reporting to a darkened hole in the ground for General Quarters?
Category: Geezer Alert!
And the day one of these RIBs hits a log at speed, while test firing the 50 cal, spins and kills someone … The program will end there!
Nah that won’t cancel it, it will just require a massive cost over run to get the software right.
I would love to see the geek who wrote the software to replace an experienced coxswain that can gauge swells, wave height, trough depth, wind speed and sence machinery vibrations all at once.
But … what do I know!
Safety stand-down!
What will happen when say, one of those Auto-Boats is engaged and its gun jams, or one gets “hacked and jacked” like the Iranians did with one of our drones?
Can’t be any worse than the Robo-Cop movies….you know, the ones where the robots turn on their masters and kill everything.
VOV: Applause coming from this seat. I didn’t wanna go “TO FAR” in the post, but in the comments we be fine. [grin]
I think it’s more along the Matrix myself….I can forsee a time when A.I. machines take over and use humane as battery’s to power themselves. 🙂
The prospect of a machine with an autonomous (e.g., no human required) modes of operation and weapons bothers me.
Why? Harlan Ellison: “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.”
Yeah Bro… easily a step in that direction too.
Sea Cylons…or the SKYNET Fleet. Between enemy hacking, jamming, and possible future AI rebellions, there’s no chance this could never, ever, possibly go wrong in any conceivable way.
Personally, I prefer Cylons. They at least include blonde Playmates and gorgeous Asian chicks with insatiable sex drives (I’m just saying, a man could die happy with a whole lot less 🙂 ) with a notable lack of Austrian-accented beefcake.
Once again, Life imitates “The Simpsons:”
“The wars of the future will not be fought on the battlefield or at sea.
They will be fought in space, or possibly on top of a very tall mountain. In either case, most of the actual fighting will be done by
small robots. And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: To build and maintain those robots. ”
From “The Secret War of Lisa Simpson” S8 E 25
Just so long as All-Points Logistics does not get then contract.
Can you imagine, Commander Phil Monkress”esque” robots that lie, steal, stay high and rip off taxpayers?
SkyNet grins.
Massive lawsuit when one of these idiot machines decides somehow at an air and water show that the audience boats are the enemy and starts firing.
Even more fun when someone builds a duplicate and sends it into a naval installation, set to detonate at the right moment.
Yeah, robots? You can keep them.
The only problem with radio controlled gunboats is that when you go up against an enemy with radio jamming equipment, then you have to go back to manned patrol boats.
Not really. Lasers carry info, too. When was the last time you heard of radio jamming to be effective? Freq hopping digital signals are jam-proof.
bigjohn: frequency hopping and other types of spread-spectrum RF signals are jam resistant, yes. Jam proof, no.
Lasers have their own issues. Smoke, dust, and even haze/fog attenuate the signal. And they’re strictly LOS, which dramatically limits their range.
Any type of remotely-controlled system can be defeated by attacking the control link. You can make it harder to that by various techniques, but it is always possible to defeat the control link given sufficient resources and appropriate tactics/techniques/procedures.
Who was the clown claiming PTSD for flying a drone? Is this platform the next generation of PTSD posers and Navy SEALS?
That was Brandon Bryant,the goat shed killer.
Say what you will, Commander Data got stuff done…
I’m not sure what my opinion is on remote controlled ships. It’s inevitable that the nations of the world will take a step in this direction. What matters now is for the NSA/CIA to continue to take cyberwarfare seriously and to take it to a new level decades beyond anything else on the planet.
Okay, ZP, I’ll play. List 100% of the “jobs” required to operate a Navy warship, and the 80% a robot could perform.
Take your time, I’m the patient sort.
Well, Anyone who sits and just monitors stuff for one?
Anyone who goes to GQ in a gun position?
Sorry AW1Ed, my experience was 40 plus years ago. Still, I have no/zero/nil trouble imagining the outcome of a “Cyber” Navy?
Don’t hold Zero to 80%. It was humorous exaggeration, peppered with a grain of truth. He did say that the jobs were good until something breaks. So, because everything that is not replaced one day breaks, the jobs are not lost but merely on loan, as it were, and additional jobs for the fixing and replacing. Let’s see, I doubt medical or mechanics will be replaced. And somebody has to make out the names on the mail, I guess, and clean out those blind spots in the head. I have no added salt in my body so that’s about it from me.
Robots can do field days, maintenance, and get racked out when other shit gets broke?
Well shit, bro! Why didn’t ya say so!
“At least until something breaks”. And breaking things is pretty much the point of combat isn’t it?
“I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that”. Yep, Hal can’t do DC. Hal also can’t go hide out in Aux 3 when he should be doing wipers either. As far as Hal doing every body’s job In CIC? My response is who’s going to clean the OI Div p-way, always be waiting in line for early chow or be the first ones down the brow after liberty call goes down?
I was thinking of the Star Trek (1960s) episode “The Ultimate Computer”.
Captain Dunsel, report to the bridge.
I can certainly see lots of potential problems here, and I’ve always been the sort who assumed Skynet was a lot more realistic than zombies for the apocalypse.
That being said though, I’m curious what those who are decrying this think of the airborne drones? This seems like its a logical progression from those. Besides, I think we are lying to ourselves if we really claim that every single servicemember is holding an absolutely crucial role that couldn’t be filled by a robot instead…or a trained monkey for that matter.
I saw what may be a good use for these last week at Mayport Naval Station. They have 2 small boats patrolling the harbor 24/7, even when the floating harbor barrier is closed. Must be one of the most boring jobs there is. They just putt putt back and forth and back and forth with their blue light flashing. Maybe these could do that job and jobs like that?
With all our great electronic gizmos, widgets, and other such techno-lology, I wonder what will happen when someone invents something that generates a large, somewhat directional, electro-magnetic pulse. Something on the order of what smallest nuclear device puts out but without the kaboom. All the electronics are scrambled and we’re left with a bunch of really cool hardware and no guys to run it.