That 'List' he's keeping must be pretty long by now............ 128 names to be precise........... [lol] What a maroon that man is!

It's the shortest day......! LONGER days ahead!!! HUZZAH.....

Just Finished Reading: A Universe from Nothing – Why is there Something rather than Nothing by Lawrence M Krauss (FP: 2012)

I have always believed that the Universe is a natural phenomenon which came into existence, through completely natural processes, some 13.7 billion years ago. Over the years I have, occasionally, dabbled in the science of such things to flesh out my belief with some facts. This book was another part of the effort to get my head around the whole thing. Whilst not completely effective – much more my fault than the authors – I am now a little closer to my goal of appreciating the science behind the existence of the Universe if not exactly fully understanding it. I am the first to admit that I am not a scientist. My formal education over the years has, by and large, been in the Humanities and that’s where I feel most at home. However I have developed, mostly through reading and some excellent TV documentaries a deepening interest in biological Evolution, Cosmology and Quantum Mechanics. This book brought together two of those subjects – Cosmology & QM.

Most of us have by now heard of Dark Matter. It is an idea conceived to explain why the Universe is behaving in the way it does. Essentially, according to present theories, there isn’t enough visible matter in the Universe to explain why it’s continuing to expand after the Big Bang and looks like it’ll expand forever so not Big Crunch when it all comes back. But weirdly (and to be honest most of the ideas discussed in this book can easily be labelled ‘weird’) not only is the Universe continuing to expand but the expansion is actually accelerating. Yes, that’s right. Accelerating. Pretty soon – in cosmic terms – we’ll no longer to be able to see the furthest galaxies and stars because they’ll be accelerating away from our area of space faster than the speed of light. Told you it was weird… The cause, the driving force of this expansion? More weirdness – Dark Energy. All space – even the empty space between stars and between galaxies is literally frothing with energy at a quantum level. Not only that, at intervals too small to measure, things like electrons spontaneously pop into existence and just as quickly pop out again and this is happening all the time. Going a little deeper down the rabbit hole it’s not only matter that seemingly spontaneously generates itself – its space too in the form of a rapid expansion. Mostly this occurs in vanishing small timeframes followed by an equally rapid deflation. But sometimes the expansion goes on into measurable time periods – like 13.7 billion years. Yes, just like our Universe and, it seems, like others too. Weird enough yet? Because there’s just one more thing – not only do the observations of our Universe say that spontaneous generation of entire Universes could happen or even do happen but, as far as the observations seem to be indicating and backed up by very sophisticated and verified mathematics, that this sort of thing *has* to happen and is happening right now. Because of the nature of QM exhibited in Dark Energy entire Universes are coming into existence in other parts of our Universe, in effect ‘budding off’ multiple Universes that, given the right physical constraints may well be very similar to this one. OK, that’s weird enough I think.

Although some of this book clearly flew over my head – I did struggle at times to work my way through the logic of it all – I did ‘get’ enough of it to appreciate how far our understanding of Universe creation has come since the idea of the Big Bang first made scientific headlines. Clearly I need to keep reading about both QM and Cosmology to get my head around the difficult stuff so there will be more in both areas (and, naturally, in Evolution too) to come. I seriously doubt that I’ll ever understand the maths behind any of this and I’ll probably never understand the intricacies of QM (I mean, who does?) but I do hope that I’ll be able to deepen (and widen?) my appreciation of both subjects so I at least get the gist of what they’re talking about. Recommended if you fancy something weird, cool and reasonably difficult to get you head around.

Cartoon Time.

Recent UFO sighting caught on camera.........

Iceberg..... Dead Ahead....!!

Just Finished Reading: The Shallows – How the Internet is changing the way we think, read and remember by Nicolas Carr (FP: 2010)

Do you find it difficult to concentrate these days? Is your memory worse than it’s ever been? Sleeping badly? On edge as is waiting for something? Have you given up reading anything longer than a page (or possibly two) of text before you need to do something, anything, else? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of people across the world feel the same – the cause? According to the author the cause is right in front of you right now, as you’re reading this. It’s the Internet.

It’s been talked about a lot. Unplugging, switching off your phone at night, not checking your work e-mails when on holiday or over the weekend but most of us can’t resist. You see people walking around with their phones clutched in their hands as if their lives depended on it. They seem, at least from afar, that they’re addicted and, to an extent, it seems that’s exactly what they are. It’s because our brains are so plastic. They response to their environment and, at a cellular level, redesign themselves to maximise our adaptability to increase our chances of survival and success. So stimulate the brain with lots of short term, instant response, high flow information and it will literally rewire itself to maximise throughput. So when an e–mail arrives, followed by another one, followed by a tweet, followed by a Facebook status alert, followed by a text, followed by an actual voice call in quick succession (or even at the same time) we can instantly switch between them. You must have seen teens effortlessly thumb messages on their phones whilst holding a conversation with music on their headphones and three other things and wonder: How can they do that? Years (or even scant months) of training and very plastic brains. The reason they can do it and you can’t (possibly) is that they literally have different brains so they can cope with it. They are wired to thrive in an information overloaded environment. So, that’s a good thing yes? We live in an age of information and the people who will be living in it longer are already thriving? That must be a good thing, right?

Not according to the author – because when something is gained, and especially when it’s gained by rewiring the brain itself, something is lost. That something is the ability to think deeply about subjects, the ability to concentrate long enough on a subject to understand it more that superficially, to hold opinions based on evidence and to make persuasive arguments backed up with detailed analysis. All the skills, indeed, that the world is more in desperate need of than ever before. What we have instead is a world increasing populated by people who are bored by facts, who have no knowledge of or interest in history, philosophy, science or much else beyond the latest celebrity tweet or YouTube sensation of the moment. Natural multi-tasking at the micro level has taken the place of deep thought about big subjects. Backed up by numerous studies from the worlds of Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology and Neurophysiology this is an eye-opening study explain why so many people seem to be distracted most of the time – because they are and it’s changing people’s brains to allow them to cope with it. This is not a good thing. We are naturally adapting well to an artificial environment and storing up problems for ourselves in the future – both as individuals and societies. So if you find yourself unable to concentrate on a book after more than a few pages maybe it’s a warning that you need to unplug from time to time. Stop checking your e-mails ten times a day, Kill those Twitter alerts, ditch Facebook and learn how to concentrate again. Definitely a recommended read for anyone concerned about the effects our technology is having on us and our kids. Much more to come on this important subject. 

Cartoon Time.

Schools warned over hackable heating systems

By Leo Kelion, BBC Technology desk editor

15 December 2017

Dozens of British schools' heating systems have been found to be vulnerable to hackers, according to a probe by a security research firm. Pen Test Partners says the problem was caused by the equipment's controllers being connected to the wider internet, against the manufacturer's guidelines. It says it would be relatively easy for mischief-makers to switch off the heaters from afar. But an easy fix, pulling out the network cables, can address the threat. Even so, the company suggests the discovery highlights that building management systems are often installed by electricians and engineers that need to know more about cyber-security. "It would be really easy for someone with basic computer skills to have switched off a school's heating system - it's a matter of clicks and some simple typing," Pen Test's founder Ken Munro told the BBC. "It's a reflection of the current state of internet-of-things security. Installers need to up their game, but manufacturers must also do more to make their systems foolproof so they can't be set up this way."

The cyber-security company made its discovery by looking for building management system controllers made by Trend Control Systems via the internet of things (IoT) search tool Shodan. It knew that a model, released in 2003, could be compromised when exposed directly to the net, even if it was running the latest firmware. Mr Munro said it had taken him less than 10 seconds to find more than 1,000 examples. In addition to the schools, he said he had seen cases involving retailers, government offices, businesses and military bases. Pen Test blogged about its findings earlier in the week, but the BBC delayed reporting the issue until it had contacted and alerted all of the schools that could be identified by name. West Sussex-based Trend Control Systems advises its customers to use skilled IT workers to avoid the problem.

But it responded to criticism that it could have done more to check its kit had been properly installed after the fact. "Trend takes cyber-security seriously and regularly communicates with customers to make devices and connections as secure as possible," said spokesman Trent Perrotto. "This includes the importance of configuring systems behind a firewall or virtual private network, and ensuring systems have the latest firmware and other security updates to mitigate the risk of unauthorised access." He added, however, that the company would "assess and test the effectiveness" of its current practices. One independent security researcher played down the threat to those still exposed, but added that the case raised issues that should be addressed. "The risk is limited because criminals have little incentive to carry out such attacks, and even if they did it should be possible for building managers to notice what is happening and manually override," said Dr Steven Murdoch, from University College London. "However, these problems do show the potential for far more dangerous scenarios in the future, as more devices get connected to the internet, whose failure might be harder to recover from. And we still need manufacturers to design secure equipment, because even if a device is not directly connected to the internet, there almost certainly is an indirect way in."

[Just when you thought you’d heard it all along comes ‘hackable heating systems’. Of course it plays strongly to one of my hobby horses (two actually) of the security – or lack of – issues of the Internet of Things as well as the fact that this sort of thing is sold on the premise that technology, and internet technology in particular, will automatically solve all of our problems – even the ones we didn’t know we had. Instead we have heating systems that can be turned on and off from the other side of the planet, played with like toys and them trashed if a bored teenager feels like it. What happens when your home security system is at risk or your networked baby monitor or your car on the way into work or the traffic lights on that really busy corner or that flight you just made or the nuclear power station 5 miles upwind of you? Come on people! Learn before someone, or many someone’s, die. Think like a criminal, think like a terrorist, think like a bored teenager and then fix the problem before someone malicious exploits it!] 

...and the start of an 18 day break! Let the sleeping & reading begin!!!

Sometimes it's the most important thing.......

Just Finished Reading: Night Walker by Donald Hamilton (FP: 1954)

Reluctantly recalled back from the Reserves Naval Lieutenant David Young couldn’t believe his luck when a car pulled over to give him a lift on a cold dark night. Luckier still the driver could drop him almost at the gate of his naval base saving time, money and inconvenience. He should have known that that something was wrong when too much started going too right. Knocked unconscious Young wakes in a hospital bed seemingly recovering from an automobile accident. But cuts, bruises and a slight concussion can’t explain why he had been wearing another man’s suit and the staff called him by another man’s name. It most certainly couldn’t explain how a woman identified as his wife picked him up a day later and drove him home to a house he had never seen before. As his recovery progressed and the concussion faded Young sought the answers to the mystery of his own disappearance. It quickly became apparent that his ‘wife’ knew exactly who he was, or actually who he wasn’t, but desperately needed him to play the part. For it transpired that her husband had been accused of being a Communist spy and had fled prosecution by the FBI. His wife, over fond of spending her days in a barely concealing negligee, needed to run too – but only once Young had recovered his strength and could protect her against her husbands ‘business partners’. But where did the fawning Doctor fit in and why was the husband’s girlfriend so insistent on uncovering Young’s real identity? 

This was a reasonable foray into the American 50’s paranoia concerning the Communist plot and was full of mysterious meetings, signals, double meanings, secret codes and much besides. The object of everyone’s fascination is never explained but it never really needs to be. It’s important, it’s secret and the Communists want it. The plot, such as it is, is over convoluted and at times rather silly. The main character Young is pretty much an idiot before, during and after his apparent concussion, Elizabeth Wilson (the wife) is even worse without a saving grace to her name. The only character of note is the ‘girlfriend’, a tomboy like navy brat both full of herself and out of her depth. Not only was she much better ‘drawn’ than the others she actually seemed to have a life of her own rather merely existing to move the plot along at the appropriate moments. So, not exactly the best Noir thriller I’ve ever read but not the worst either by a long way. Reasonable for a read over a wet weekend.

Cartoon Time.

That's quite a significant difference......

Maybe they don't allow reading inside......?

Just Finished Reading: The General Strike by Margaret Morris (FP: 1976)

May 1926. With Government subsidies about to come to an end and a Miner’s strike in the offing something just had to give. Either the Miners would accept a pay cut and, in humiliation, return to work or the Mine owners would capitulate and agree to pay a living wage which would cut into their profits. The idea that investment in new machinery and new work practices would improve efficiency and therefore, eventually, profits was dismissed as a pipedream. The miners would just have to be paid less and work longer hours and be damned grateful they had a job at all. Immovable object meet irresistible force. With nine months to run the subsidy allowed the Tory Government of the day and the leaders of industry (often the same people or close friends) had time to prepare stockpiles and contingency plans. The Unions and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) who held them together distrusted each other and far fewer and far less detailed plans were drawn up when the inevitable conflict between Capital and Labour came to a head. So, when the subsidy lapsed, the miners refused to accept the cuts and the Mine owners locked them out it was up to the TUC to back the Miners in their strike effort. Many is the unions saw their support as a natural defensive response and were eager to come out in sympathy. Some indeed, individuals, factories or towns spontaneously came out in support of the Miners struggle and had to be told to go back. But other unions – the heavy hitters in power generation, railways and heavy industry already had their orders, downed tools and walked out. On Tuesday 4th May almost 2 million workers where idle and more had voted to come out too. In the early days of the General Strike far more energy was expended in restraining the strike from growing than in keeping men (it was mostly men) out. Naturally the Governments contingency plans went into effect. Key points of the economy where secured by the Army and Navy. Thousands of volunteers drove buses, unloaded ships (under armed guard) and provided other hard pressed services.

No one really knew what would happen next. Was this the first stage in a Communist revolution? Some parts of the far-left certainly thought or hoped so. But for the most part it was seen as a political strike in defence of the Working Class rather than any attempt to overthrow a government no matter their attitude to Labour in general. Of course some of the more extreme elements in government, Winston Churchill in particular, wanted tanks on the streets and to some extent he got it – along with Fascist bully boys paid as ‘Special constables’ to cause trouble and break picket lines. But eventually, after a rather shaky start, the unions got their act together and became a more co-ordinated organisation which kept food moving, strikers paid, and everyone kept busy making the Strike as effective as possible and with any violence kept to the absolute minimum. Then, in the second week, a day after the next batch of strikers walked out the TUC called the strike off and ordered everyone back to work. Initially thinking that they had won a great victory a cheer went up. Only on realising that nothing had in fact been achieved did disbelief turn into dismay and anger. Just as things were getting into their stride the TUC had thrown in the towel and had abandoned the Miners to their fate. The Strike had lasted 9 days and the like of it would never be seen again.

This was another of those events in British history where I knew the event had happened but I had little idea of the background or the details. I certainly know a LOT more now thanks to this highly detailed study of the General Strike. A good part of my motivation on seeking this out was my self-labelling as a Socialist. If I’m going to call myself as such and identify as such then I’d damned well understand what it is I’m supposed to believe in and know my way around both Labour and Union history. This book is a significant step in that direction and, not surprisingly, after reading of the suffering of the labouring classes at the time my politics has continued its steady drift to the Left. There’s much more to come from this rich well of Socialist thought and action and I have some reading already set up, not only in the R4 category but also in (straight) Politics, Biography and history. I definitely intend to become a well-educated and well-read Socialist in good Working Class fashion. Recommended for anyone interested in such things as well as those who like to find out more about a very odd, and very short, slice of English political history.     

...as it's snowing again today.

Cartoon Time.

...or hi-hacked robot delivery vehicles.

San Francisco to restrict goods delivery robots.

From The BBC

7 December 2017

San Francisco officials have voted to restrict where delivery robots can go in the city, in a blow for the burgeoning industry. Start-ups will have to get permits to use such bots, which will be restricted to less crowded urban areas. Opponents are concerned about the safety of pedestrians, particularly elderly people and children. Walk San Francisco, a group that campaigns for pedestrian safety, wanted a complete ban. A range of companies have begun trialling small robots that can deliver food and other goods. They use sensors and lasers in a similar way to self-driving cars in order to navigate their routes.

Robotics company Marble - which describes its machines as "friendly, neighbourhood robots" - began testing in San Francisco earlier this year. Other companies, such as Starship and Postmates, are also keen to use pavements for robot deliveries. San Francisco supervisor Norman Yee, who originally proposed a ban on such robots, has previously said that the city's streets "are for people, not robots". Despite its proximity to Silicon Valley, San Francisco is falling behind other states such as Virginia and Idaho where there are already laws permitting delivery robots to operate. The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce lobbied against an all-out ban of such robots, saying that "could create a massive barrier to future innovation in the industry". In October the legislation was reframed to look at regulation rather than a ban.

[OK, this is the first I’d heard of this although it seems pretty much like a no-brainer with the development of driverless cars forging ahead. I guess that driverless ‘street robots’ (like that pictured above) would be a lot easier to develop and distribute than the road version. Of course they’re also easier to mess with – you can easily imagine kids building obstacles on known robot routes – and they’re going to be very easy to rob or hi-hack {I may have just created a new word there (an updated version of hi-jack but using computers to gain access to autonomous vehicles) so you saw it here first OK!} so I’m not 100% sure of their utility in the real world. Plus you can imagine faux robots made up to look like legit ones delivering drugs or, being the world we unfortunately live in, bombs to locations in the city. With potentially thousands of these things even in a medium sized city how are they going to be controlled, regulated or monitored. It’s, to be honest, a security nightmare – so good luck with that!]

We had SNOW today.......!

Good Advice.................. 

Just Finished Reading: Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (FP: 1933)

In the late 1920’s George Orwell, then known by his real name Eric Blair, found himself close to abject poverty after having the majority of his money stolen from his room. Forced to look for any kind of paying work before his rent ran out and he was cast on to the streets of Paris he finally got lucky by gaining a position of a plongeur – the lowest of the low in a hotel hierarchy: a washer of dishes, a chopper of vegetables, someone who does any task that no one else will do, do it quickly, for 15-16 hours a day and for a subsistence wage. Already familiar with a strange host of characters from all over the Continent he found himself surrounded by Russian emigres, Italian thieves, and Romanian Communists. Everyone had a tragic story to tell, a reason for ending up and the bottom of the heap and some of them were even true – at least a little. With almost no disposable income, little prospect (but a lot of hope) for promotion and a deep fatigue caused by the long arduous hours of work followed by little sleep the only release was in cheap wine, loud company, bar fights and, very occasionally, a cheap prostitute. Orwell lasted several months in the position – briefly graduating to working flat out in a new restaurant – before returning to England. He was horrified to learn that other plongeurs do the job for decades just to keep their heads above water.

Aided by a friendly loan and the prospect of an easy job Orwell returned to London only to discover that his new post – looking after an invalid – had been delayed by a month. Once again flat bloke, only this time in London, he needed to adapt swiftly to his new circumstances and he did so by falling in with a series of tramps shuffling between hostels in the South East of England. Again each tramp had his story of how he fell on hard times and each showed, in their own way, a fortitude to continue when practically everything was taken from them. What made the experience that much worse was the way the Authorities made even straightforward things – like getting a bed for the night or some decent food – unnecessarily hard and, more to the point, demeaning. In the years before the Welfare State this was how the State treated the poor – as a burden to be shifted elsewhere rather than being dealt with at source.

Despite being well written I did start to struggle with this slim book (a mere 216 pages in my edition) thinking that it was all very well describing the lives of the poor in both London and Paris but where was the analysis – and then, after just over 100 pages, there it was, a devastating critique of not only the hotel system in France but the use of semi-literate workers to produce shoddy goods at minimum wage (practically starvation wages) in order to keep them ‘occupied and exhausted’ in order to prevent them raising up against their oppressors. Whereas, if the frightened ‘masters’ had spent any time actually talking to them they would have discovered that all most people want is a roof over their head, food in their bellies, a bed to sleep in and something to look forward to in their leisure time. Violent revolution hardly enters a single head – exhausted and poorly educated or not. Clearly, he repeatedly pointed out, the poor and the tramps are not different people from the rich (or simply the employed) they are essentially the same – just with vastly different resources.

I suppose that I shouldn’t have really but I was both surprised and a little disappointed that Orwell didn’t propose some kind of Welfare State to deal with the issue and consequences of widespread unemployment. Of course this is doing him a huge disservice. The Welfare State in its early incarnation was a consequence of decades of experience accumulated in the decades after Orwell’s time in Paris and London. He could hardly look 20 years ahead and pluck such ideas even partially formed out of thin air. This was an interesting read and a welcome reminder of what the poor had to suffer before the late 1940’s. No doubt there are those in the so-called higher echelons of society who would like to bring these days back when the poor where motivated by fear to ‘behave themselves’. With first-hand accounts of what that policy meant to the men and women at the bottom of society such as this still in circulation maybe we won’t have to fight those battles again any time soon. Recommended for all social and political historians.

Cartoon Time.

Snow........? Play......?

Just Finished Reading: Self by Barry Dainton (FP: 2014)

Who Are You? It’s a big question. What makes you…. You? Is it an immortal soul housed in your meat body somehow with a connection between the two or are you essentially a meat machine driven by instinct and deep seated biological drives? What, and where, is the essential ‘I’ that makes up the Self? These are all questions posed in this intriguing, if sometime difficult to understand, slim volume.

Opening with some history of the idea – inevitably involving Descartes’s idea of a dualistic mind/body separation – the author delves into the structure of the brain (once thought to be a mere radiator who’s purpose was to cool the blood) and the physicality of how memory works. For memory is, it seems, the essence of who you are. The persistence of memory, from second to second, and year to year, informs you as to who you are. It is the narrative, the life story that we tell ourselves, that defines us and it is the memory of that story that tells us who we are. When physical brain injury or debilitating disease (or simple age) takes this away from us we lose all (or some) sense of who we actually are. The Self, it would appear emerges from the whirlwind dance of experience, thought and memory that is to a significant extent hardwired into the physical structure of our brains by our life experiences and our reactions to them. Continuity is key here. If each morning, after a period of unconsciousness, you awoke without any clear memory of the previous day your Self would be fragmented and your consciousness episodic. The fact that you wake up as you shows that the existence of mere consciousness is not enough to guarantee the development of a Self. Consciousness, the fact of being aware and, indeed, of being aware that you are aware is only one element in the story of the Self.

It’s been a while since I’ve read any decent philosophy and it showed as I, occasionally at least, struggled with parts of this book. Far from being badly written I lay any fault at my doorstep rather than the authors. The arguments regarding the existence of the Self – the author is not one of those philosophers who consider the whole idea a quaint illusion – are complicated and deserve intellectual effort to fully comprehend. So be prepared to put some effort in here. Fortunately the author often has a light and playful touch which helps, as does his use of astute thought experiments from deep within my comfort zone – Science Fiction. Debates on the effects of matter transmission on the brain/body tease out the details of continuity of consciousness help as does discussion of intelligent machines. If you have any background in the wondrous world of SF you’ll find all of this an entertaining breeze.

The final chapter did seem a little out of place though. Again deep in the realm of SF speculation the author discussed the idea that we might not be ‘real’ in the sense that we all, no doubt, think we are. He indeed made a strong argument for the proposition that our selves may indeed be virtual constructs living inside a vast computer simulation. Indeed he proposes that the likelihood of this being so, given the apparent age of the Universe and the probability that future (or present!) civilisations would be expected to be both curious and have practically infinite computer power at their disposal, it is almost certain that you (reading this) and I (writing it) are both virtual people. That’s quite a mind job when you sit down and think about it. All in all this was fascinating (and deep) stuff. If you do fancy reading such things I do recommend putting some quality time aside in order to have the opportunity to ponder, re-read if required, and walk around the garden before tackling the next bit. A rewarding if, sometimes challenging, read. Recommended and more philosophy to come.           

Cartoon Time.

Terrorists 'certain' to get killer robots, says defence giant

By Brian Wheeler, BBC Political reporter

30 November 2017

Rogue states and terrorists will get their hands on lethal artificial intelligence "in the very near future", a House of Lords committee has been told. Alvin Wilby, vice-president of research at French defence giant Thales, which supplies reconnaissance drones to the British Army, said the "genie is out of the bottle" with smart technology. And he raised the prospect of attacks by "swarms" of small drones that move around and select targets with only limited input from humans. "The technological challenge of scaling it up to swarms and things like that doesn't need any inventive step," he told the Lords Artificial Intelligence committee. "It's just a question of time and scale and I think that's an absolute certainty that we should worry about."

The US and Chinese military are testing swarming drones - dozens of cheap unmanned aircraft that can be used to overwhelm enemy targets or defend humans from attack. Noel Sharkey, emeritus professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at University of Sheffield, said he feared "very bad copies" of such weapons - without safeguards built-in to prevent indiscriminate killing - would fall into the hands of terrorist groups such as so-called Islamic State. This was as big a concern as "authoritarian dictators getting a hold of these, who won't be held back by their soldiers not wanting to kill the population," he told the Lords Artificial Intelligence committee. He said IS was already using drones as offensive weapons, although they were currently remote-controlled by human operators.

But the "arms race" in battlefield artificial intelligence meant smart drones and other systems that roamed around firing at will could soon be a reality. "I don't want to live in a world where war can happen in a few seconds accidentally and a lot of people die before anybody stops it", said Prof Sharkey, who is a spokesman for the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. The only way to prevent this new arms race, he argued, was to "put new international restraints on it", something he was promoting at the United Nations as a member of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control. But Prof Wilby, whose company markets technology to combat drone attacks, said such a ban would be "misguided" and difficult to enforce.

He said there was already an international law of armed conflict, which was designed to ensure armed forces "use the minimum force necessary to achieve your objective, while creating the minimum risk of unintended consequences, civilian losses". The Lords committee, which is investigating the impact of artificial intelligence on business and society, was told that developments in AI were being driven by the private sector, in contrast to previous eras, when the military led the way in cutting edge technology. And this meant that it was more difficult to stop it falling into the wrong hands. Britain's armed forces do not use AI in offensive weapons, the committee was told, and the Ministry of Defence has said it has no intention of developing fully autonomous systems. But critics, such as Prof Sharkey, say the UK needs to spell out its commitment to banning AI weapons in law.

[Here I was thinking that such things are obvious – technology, especially that with military applications, will inevitably fall into the hands of bad guys and those who would do us harm. I mean, it’s not like it’s never happened before. Technology is the great leveller and the even greater enabler. Modern IT technology is even more of both. It is more easily dispersible (imagine for a moment how difficult it is to obtain the materials for a working nuke, now imagine how easy it would be to build your very own killer robot) and more easily usable by the average carrier of an AK-47 (no PhD required). The knowledge is already out there. The technology is already out there, either commercially available or steal-able, and the know-how is available in universities across the world or (naturally) on-line. Theirs is no going back. That Genie is out there and is having far too much fun to go back inside the bottle. A world-wide ban on such weapons would simply not work and is, frankly, already too late. Presently the West and other nation-states have the advantage given to all early adopters. No such advantage lasts forever. In-coming drone strikes and killer robot attacks are in our future. We need to know how to deal with them – Now.]