Oh, here's the problem.... you've got this thing set on evil!

You may remember a little movie franchise called "The Terminator", starring a semi-famous actor who is currently the governor of California. That movie was based upon the premise that humans had created a line of killer robots that they sent into battle to fight their wars. In Terminator 3, we see how these robots come to be controlled by a central artificial intelligence and then turn on their human creators. We also get to see, in that movie, the very first terminator model ever created, the appropriately named T1.

The T1: Science Fiction

It's not unusual for science fiction writers and scientist to come up with the same ideas. William Gibson imagined cyberspace, today we have the internet. Star Trek imagined teleportation, and today's scientists have used quantum mechanics to teleport energy waves, and thus, they say, matter. Video phones have long been a staple on space faring vessels of all kinds, and today we use them to conduct high profile business meetings, trainings, and even make life easier for the deaf. But battle bots? Is that feasible?

It probably would not suprise you that the prospect of sending a machine into battle instead of a live human has been a goal of the US Army for over 30 years. After all, machines are more obedient, never tire, and drastically cheaper to own and operate that a real person. But did you know that a large chunk of the funding that is being requested for remaking the Army this year is actually going towards a research project for developing robotic soldiers? Would it suprise you that the largest military contract ever awarded by the US government, 127 billion dollars, is going not for missle defense but towards this robotic force? Would it suprise you that these contractors are saying that we could have "a robot that looks, thinks and fights like a soldier" by 2035? No? How about this: the first machine-gun toting, programmed to kill robot will enter active duty, not in 30 years, but in April. Of this year.


SWORDS: Science Fact

With gun-toting killer robots roaming earth, book me on the first shuttle to Mars, please.

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