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CONCERNS RE: CAR CHASE
On May 15, a front-page article in the Athens
Banner-Herald reported a woman being run over
and badly injured by a car that a law enforce
ment vehicle had 'bumped' into in order to get
it to pull over. It was reported that this was
a chase spanning three counties and that the
maneuver was done in a relatively unpopulated
area before getting into Athens proper in order
to lessen the chance of someone getting hurt.
Unfortunately, they did not see two people walk
ing and the woman suffered broken ribs and
spine along with other injuries when the car ran
over her.
I was witness to the ordeal from across the
train tracks that run parallel to Jefferson Road
where the incident took place. It was twilight
and I did not see details, but two things were
clear. The first thing that caught my attention
was a loud crash. This was the 'bump' described
in the article. The second thing is that the po
lice lights from several law enforcement vehicles
came on immediately AFTER the crash. No sirens
had been used either. I can't help but wonder
why the.e were no lights or sirens used to get tiie
car to pull over before crashing into him. A\nd if
the chase had been going on through three coun
ties, it seems particularly strange that lights and
sirens weren't used in dWer to warn other traffic
and pedestrians to get out of the way.
Name Withheld
Athens
Editor's note: Georgia State Patrol Sgt A W Marlowe tells
Flagpole that the State Patrol regrets the injuries caused,
and that the patrol cars' sirens and lights were on for the
duration of the chase.
ROBOTS RESPONSES
The real issue in dealing with robots in hu
man society is more an issue of humano-roboto
compatibility [letter 'One Hundred Robots."
June 6).
It has been proven in various studies
(Slaughter 9:12, and Jurgens 4:3 for example)
that the compatibility is an inverse ratio when
determined randomly, and an obverse ratio when
those involved are allowed to make choices.
Thus, one must draw the conclusion that free will
and robotics cannot coexist in the same system
whenever humans are present.
There is no problem with the logistics of
building robots to perform most tasks humans
perform today. Robots, of one sort or another,
fly planes, drive cars,
engineer trains, sail
ships, pilot rockets and
even mine the deep
sea floors. However, in
all of these situations
the interaction with
humans is minimal.
Humans may be pres
ent, humans may push
the start buttons, if such buttons need to exist,
but there is yery little actual interaction.
Letting loose robots in agricultural settings
(Bonner 19:7) will in fact necessitate this in
teraction in ways that flying airplanes does not
Choices will have to be made and once made
lived with or else the whole experiment will faiL
Will those who find their interactions with cold
machines unpalatable still believe that the syn
ergy gained through these confabulations super
sedes their own happiness? Somehow I doubt it
The choices to be made in a humano-roboto
society will prove complex, and as we have not
even entered that society I am dubious that we
can even begin to frame the questions which
will seem obvious the morning after the switch
is thrown. Frankly, though this all sounds like an
easy fix, I would caution everyone to take a step
back and take a deep breath. Take a deep breath
while you still have lungs with which to breathe.
Janice Johnson
Norcross
ROBOTS RESPONSES
Since you can't write a rebuttal to something
that hasn't been addressed yet. I will limit my
comments to points Keith Priest made in his
June 6 letter. I don't
know if I know more
about robotics and hu
man nature than Mr.
Priest, but maybe I
can shed a little light
on some things he has
oversimplified.
“Ten to 15 years
from now, we will see
setf-replicating (and self-repairing) robots.' Oh,
really. From what I have seen on the Discovery
Channel and on-line, we are barely able to make
a robotic arm with even rudimentary hand move
ments, and you want us to believe that we will
have full-scale robots which will be able to
perform the intricate wiring and assembly of an
incredibly complicated piece of machinery (Mr.
Priest doesn't seem to be talking about a robot
that is part of an assembly line and performs a
few limited functions over and over again, but of
one robot that is able to do everything necessary
to build an entirely new robot.) Where will these
robots get the parts and supplies to ‘self-repli
cate?" Miles and miles of wiring, circuit boards
and CPUs, nuts and bolts, large amounts of metal
for the frame and extenor covering: surely you
are not suggesting that the robots will grow all
these supplies, are you?
'Housing, food and medical needs of humans
can be met by robots. Programs to meet all of
these needs should evolve simultaneously."
Programs to get robots to plant and water seeds
and ones to get them to perform brain surgery to
remove an aneurysm will evolve simultaneously?
Will they be able to meet the food needs of peo
ple who live in Alaska as easily as those who live
in Kansas? What about people who live in the
desert or nowhere near a viable water supply?
"Approximately 20 percent of 2.5 acres avail
able per person should be utilized to meet all
basic human needs. Some law of this sort should
be implemented worldwide." Where would the
2.5 acres per person be available from? Do we
take it from people who own the land now? What
happens if I suddenly have triplets after 20 years
of marriage? Where will they find the extra 7.5
acres if I am already up against my neighbor's
property? What if 1 want to move to another
part of the country? Do I have to wait until 12.5
acres opens up where I want to move to? And
what worldwide government will implement this
law? The one that will be in piace in 10-15 years
when the self-replicating robots are around? We
can't hardly get countries to agree on much of
anything. What makes you think they will agree
to limit themselves to 2.5 acres per person?
"If the same robots made the rebars and uti
lized locally acquired aggregates and cement to
make concrete....' Made the rebars? You mean
BUMPERSTICNER OF THE WEEK
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