| If it only had a heart: Can robots behave humanely?
We could reduce man's inhumanity to man through technology," he said. Peter Asaro, a computer scientist and sociologist with the Center for the Critical Analysis of Contemporary Culture at Rutgers University, countered that scientists should not dignify what he considers the naive notion that robots can be programmed to kill, but only in an ethical fashion. Asaro said computer scientists should oppose the design of robots with the ability to make killing decisions before the technology becomes widely dispersed. "We have an opportunity with autonomy in weapons systems to think about how to control their development," he said, suggesting that society "ban them or at least restrict their use." The discussion of robot ethics raised questions of definitions.
Rivalry of Ruthian proportions
One of those noises was a massive cheer from the greater New York area. From central Jersey to southern Connecticut, euphoric Giants fans jumped on couches in the suburbs, ran up and down the streets of Manhattan, and called loved ones from coast-to-coast to revel in the joy. It was pandemonium. And not the Corey Worthington kind of pandemonium; no, we're talking the good kind of pandemonium. The other noise? Well, that was a collective gasp from the rest of the continent. If you listened just closely enough, you could also actually hear a collective shaking of heads and rolling of eyes, too. Why the exasperated reaction to one of football's greatest moments? Well, because the Tynes field goal meant the inevitable was now here. Yes, as if the usual 24 hour-a-day pre-Super Bowl hype and second-by-second media attention to the big game wasn't enough, the sports world is now wholly focused on two cities New York and Boston for what feels like the millionth time.
Unemployment figures for Scotland fell last month, official statistics ...
I think we're going to have to start shouting about the truth ("Scotching The Myth" etc.) a LOT LOT louder. I give you exhibit one from our dear friend Mr Simon Heffer: http://www.telegraph .co.uk/opinion/main. jhtml?xml=/opinion/2 007/11/14/do1401.xml .
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