While
reading “Wired for War”: the Author’s Notes, I found it extremely interesting
that there were millions of “personal robots” worldwide. When I think about
robots, the military is the first thing that comes to mind, but now I realize
that robots are increasingly becoming the blue collar workforce, and many
appliances within the household. This is very frightening because people will
eventually become displaced from their jobs, and a dependency on robotics will
begin to form. I am also interested in how robots will affect the economy. If
people begin to lose their jobs, will the economy go into a downward spiral, or
will the existence of robots better our financial system? We live in a world
where the advancement of technology is extremely important. Therefore, I
definitely believe that there should be rules and regulations in regards to
robotic engineering. The advancement of personal robotics should have
limitations because we do not want to create something that could potentially
control and or harm us.
I
also found the article “Terrorism with a Bigger Budget” of great importance. I
believe that drones have made killings particularly easy, in comparison to
actual soldiers on the battlefield. Soldiers are being removed from combat
zones to allow the drones to execute its targeted killings. As human beings,
soldiers have a sense of empathy and determine whether or not they want to
execute a killing. However, drones can be controlled by someone that is sitting
in their cubicle, that has never been to war or experienced the horrors of
battle. The use of drones twists our perception of reality, and we tend to
forget that we are killing people, innocent children, women, and men, through
targeted killings. Drones greatly benefit the soldiers’ lives that are using
them; consequently they are causing a detrimental impact on the opposing
country and its innocent civilians. I agree with the author, that the opposing
countries probably see the United States as a terrorist and will plot to seek revenge
for the innocent people that died. We sometimes forget that our actions have
consequences whether they are immediate or not. America’s future generations
will be at the forefront of vengeance.
As we will get into in a week or so, being a drone operator thousands of miles away has its costs as well.
ReplyDeleteGoing off the professor's comment here again, but your statement "Drones greatly benefit the soldiers' lives that are using them" could be seen as a false statement as well. Drone operators become the targets for retaliation. Are these operators combatants or innocent civilians? Is retaliation against them justifiable?
ReplyDeleteEarlier I presumed that drone operators were hidden and protected, but I can see how they can also be the targets for retaliation. I can not explicitly answer your question on whether or not the operators are combatants or innocent civilians. Because you can work for the military and still be a civilian. I do not believe retaliation against drone operators are justifiable. Some of the operators are probably innocent civilians trying to make a living for their family. Is retaliation ever justified? It will only create a non-ending cycle of blood and warfare.
DeleteI agree that retaliation is never justified. However, it is a part of human nature to want to seek revenge. These individuals who are working for the military know that they are killing innocent people. The use of drones only make it easier for the drone operators to not feel guilty for their actions since their actions almost feel as if they are playing a video game and not really killing people.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the drone operators may abuse their powers. As you stated, the operators probably do not feel guilty about their actions. The operators literally have the power of life and death in the palm of their hands. How can we assure that their power will not be abused?
DeleteDespite the fact that these drone operators may be thousands of miles away from the action, they are still the ones "pulling the trigger" during these situations, and must be held responsible for the deaths of these individuals (for better or worse). Therefore, i find it hard to consider any drone operator a non-combatant.
ReplyDelete