And now, a collection of various emails between myself and Andy rationally displaying why everyone should be terrified of the impending robotic apocalypse. Organized by each article that shows the varying ways we are going to lose control and then be attacked by our own creations.

Insect Sized Robots
me:
now you might not even notice the robots before they kill you:
http://gizmodo.com/5347909/army-of-flea+sized-robots-to-do-our-bidding-in-the-future
andy:
I hate insects and robots, so I guess it was just a matter of time. Short of spying, surveillance and entering our brains through the small holes in our head, I don’t really see the usefulness of a such a breakthrough.
Robots That Power Themselves By Eating Human Bodies
me:
This one just seems to be the most ridiculous and set up for disaster, robots that power themselves by eating people. Kidding about actually becoming self aware aside, what happens when a program bug causes a machine to realize it needs ‘fuel’ (aka people) and this overrides whatever thing tells it to not eat LIVE people, and it starts mowing down whomever is misfortunate enough to be nearby at the time.
Here are two of my favorite lines from the article:
“And, if the machines can’t find enough dead people to eat, they can always make new ones.”
“Researchers seem to get a kick out of ensuring the demise of the human species, so the project is called the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot, or EATR.”
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/07/military-researchers-develop-corpse-eating-robots/
Becoming Self Aware / Us Losing Control Over Them
article summary:
MQ-9 Reaper UAV fail-safe programming failed, and the US Air Force shot it down with a manned plane, which isn’t uncommon. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are supposed to return to their home if they lose contact with their pilots, no explanation why this didn’t kick in. Worth noting they are armed, called “Reapers” and programmed to kill people on the ground.
me:
Getting more afraid?
http://gizmodo.com/5359382/runaway-drone-shot-out-of-sky
andy:
Point of clarification: it’s not like I’m living in continuous, debilitating fear of my own impending death by technology. Quite the contrary, I embrace new technology. I’d like a robot vacuum as much as anyone. I hug my playstation more than my own girlfriend (it plays high-def movies in brilliant 1080p, she, sadly, does not).

That being said, I don’t see how it’s possible to ignore the writing on the wall. Consider how far technology has progressed in the last ten years alone. It’s a staggering pace that figures to see limitless increase over the next decade. You know this to be true better than anyone (what’s the statistic; processing speed practically doubles every six months or something?).

Furthermore, the fact is, any modern advancements that trickle down to the consumer market have been either initially created or implemented years earlier by the military. (Halfway recap: technology advancing at unfathomable rate; utilized and perfected by military for killing purposes years before it’s released to the public).

If robots and computers were infallible, there would be no need for computer and software repair, unmanned drones would not go dead and need to be shot out of the sky and the technological world would function in beautiful harmony. Clearly, it does not; shit breaks constantly, and often for no logical reason.

So we have increasingly intelligent, computer-based robots and systems, initially designed for murdering people, which have a propensity for functioning erratically, unexpectedly or not at all.

Let’s apply that concept to the article I sent you about the unmanned tank that runs on organic material and the bodies of dead soldiers. By this logic, should such a contraption go rogue, man has designed, built and unleashed a reinforced metal tank that runs on human flesh, correct? And it’s up to this erratic computer to decide what’s alive and what isn’t? A computer has no sense of consciousness; it, by nature, cannot make such a determination.

The unmanned drones require a human pilot. How long until they’re programmed to seek and destroy on their own? Less than five years? Will they still need to be shot from the sky when we lose control of them, and if so, wouldn’t they be programmed to recognize danger and take all precautions to eliminate it?

It’s not a question of irrational fear. I’m actually being quite logical here. It’s merely a question of who is the first to die by the hand or gun of an autonomous robot, and when will that be? I suggest it’s within our lifetimes, and feasibly, within the next decade.

And there you have it people. Robots ruling the world, only a question of how and when.. not if. Fact.