Tuesday, September 08, 2015
Moment of clarity 3
UKTelegraph is cheering self-driving cars and simultaneously blasting Repooflican candidates for owning guns.
As usual among "journalists", exactly backwards.
The old NRA slogan "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" applies correctly to guns, and also to normal autos and most other tools.
A gun or car or hammer or knife or screwdriver or weed-wacker can be a weapon... but only when used with specific deadly intention.
The slogan does NOT apply to autonomous cars. These weapons do kill people on their own, without any human intention.
Hold on. This seems complicated and subtle. Something is missing.
After thinking and walking about it, I formed a chain of reasoning:
What about a mousetrap? When I cock a trap and leave it in a mouseroad, I've created an autonomous weapon. It's programmed to detect a mouse (of below-median intelligence) and kill it.
What about a humantrap? When a store owner gets tired of thefts and sets up a shotgun with a tripwire, he has created an autonomous weapon. It's programmed to detect a thief (ditto) and kill him.
What about a landmine?
Aha. Now the correct dividing line emerges.
Mousetraps and tripwires are SELF-DEFENSE weapons. Landmines are NOT self-defense weapons. Landmines are placed on property that you don't own, and they're not protecting your own body or family.
Self-driving cars are mobile landmines. They are sent out to wander the roads, killing totally innocent pedestrians as a desired side-effect of unnecessary luxury.
Basically a Non-Virtual Reality Entertainment Experience for passive sadists.
Basically a Non-Virtual Reality Entertainment Experience for passive sadists.Labels: Danbo
¶ 6:20 AM
