I've never understood how such a smart guy can also be a climate change skeptic.
]]>I have to wonder, though. It seems unlikely that out of 200-odd passengers, no one had a satellite phone, to call someone and tell them what was happening.
]]>I make no claims to sociological or economic sophistication. Just a thought I wanted to throw out there. Sorry if someone's already brought it up, there are too many comments to read.
]]>And really advanced robotics has some pretty scary consequences. Imagine what the Vietnam war would have been like if the American government had been able to send over a bunch of robots to do all the fighting, without risking any American lives. Most of the American public was pretty apathetic or pro-government about the war as it was, even with all the American soldiers who were killed.
And, of course, one great thing about robot soldiers from the point of view of a corrupt government is that they'll follow whatever orders you give them. Destroy villages? Kill massive numbers of civilians? Torture prisoners? Arrange accidents for pesky journalists? Robots don't have consciences, they won't object, and they won't leak anything to the media.
Similar issues come to mind for domestic policing. And prisons. And let's not forget how useful really small robots would be to spy agencies. "Fly on the wall," indeed.
]]>If only the citizens of the US and UK had the wit to learn from that excellent example...
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