Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!
Codebreaker

Lots of very stupid robots fighting in Afghanistan

John Moe Feb 8, 2011

Wired reports there are over 2,000 robots fighting in Afghanistan with real people forces – that’s 1 robot for every 50 U.S. troops in the country. The robots are used to clear routes – make sure that if bombs go off, they kill the robots, not the people. They inspect vehicles and do lots of other classified things.

From Wired:

For all the growing popularity and utility of America’s robot soldiers, they’re still way too dumb to do much of anything on their own. Demonstrations of groundbot technology “have abounded,” Dr. Scott Fish, the Army’s chief scientist…. But military researchers still “don’t know when it is we can deliver … serious autonomy.”

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.