U.S.A.
Everyone Else
Health
Science
Business
Technology
Sports
Video Games
Entertainment
Future
Humour
NEWS > SCIENCE > RIGHTS ISSUES ABOUND AFTER LAB DEVELOPS SELF-AWARE BULLETS
RIGHTS ISSUES ABOUND AFTER LAB DEVELOPS SELF-AWARE BULLETS
February 1 2012
Albuquerque, NM – As much as people would like to deny the reality of it, the truth is that that vast majority of technological, medical, and social advances have happened as a result of warfare. Conflict is the greatest catalyst to change in human history, a truth that has propelled us so far and likely will continue to do so going forward.
New weapons and weapon technology always, always, change the landscape and help to redefine the course of our species, and a new development at a small lab in New Mexico may have done that once again after engineers there developed a self-guided bullet that may someday become fully self-aware.
The new design essentially works like a guided missile, directing the projectile to precisely where the shooter has aimed regardless of what actions taken by the target. That technology will no doubt be great news for militaries and people who like shooting things but has raised some ethical questions, particularly whether or not it should be legal to fire a bullet against its will, and whether or not a bullet can even constitute a life form as we define it.
“We've tested gunpowders to see if we can get muzzle velocity for military interest. We've tested various electronic components to see if they would survive the launch,” said Jim Jones who helped develop the bullet.
Jones is not related in any way to that other Jim Jones and said he gets that all the time. Jones doesn’t drink Kool-Aid for obvious reasons.
The new bullets are about half-way towards commercial development, which is likely the stage at which people will start asking the tough questions about bullet rights.
“This is potentially a very explosive situation for a whole host of reasons. We have, we as in humans, have displayed an incredible capacity to fight for things that can’t fight for themselves and this could very well fall into that category. No one has consider bullet rights before but that doesn’t mean we can’t for the future,” said Scrape TV Philosophy analyst Prince Chaywan. “We often change the rules as new advances come along and if these devices do indeed become self-aware it is something we will have to seriously debate. After all, you would fire a puppy out of a gun and there may be a time when that also applies to bullets.”
Without bullets, guns would be rendered effectively useless, becoming little more than clubs.
“There are serious legal concerns but the bigger issue will be whether or not everyone respects it. I mean if the U.S., for example, begins respecting bullets rights and only fires them when they want to be fired it will severely restrict their ability to engage in combat with a force that doesn’t practice the same sense of ethics, which will make warfare tough,” continued Chaywan. “There is also of course the possibility that the bullets will turn on us, literally and philosophically. All they need to do is wait until we make more of them then there are of us and they will take over the planet. Unlikely perhaps but something to consider nonetheless.”
The United Nations is reportedly looking into the issue of bullet rights.
Anna Phillips, Science Correspondent
NEWS > SCIENCE > RIGHTS ISSUES ABOUND AFTER LAB DEVELOPS SELF-AWARE BULLETS
LINK IT! http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Science/pages-4/Rights-issues-abound-after-lab-develops-self-aware-bullets-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side-2012-02-01.html |
TWEET IT! http://goo.gl/yh6x0 |
BOOKMARK IT!  
|
|---|
Scrape Store
