Robo-Soldiers Coming to a War Near You

That's right. Step aside Frankenstein, Terminator, etc. America is building its own robotic super-soldiers.

The robot soldier is coming. The Pentagon predicts that robots will be a major fighting force in the American military in less than a decade, hunting and killing enemies in combat. Robots are a crucial part of the Army's effort to rebuild itself as a 21st-century fighting force, and a $127 billion project called Future Combat Systems is the biggest military contract in American history...Military planners say robot soldiers will think, see and react increasingly like humans. In the beginning, they will be remote-controlled, looking and acting like lethal toy trucks. As the technology develops, they may take many shapes. And as their intelligence grows, so will their autonomy.

Well, here's hoping these robots don't go the way of the ones in that Simpson's "Itchy and Scratchy Land" episode. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I prefer it when the battlefield is under our control, and not overly automated. And of course, you have to wonder how long until we see the first battlefield computer virus.