Skynet, here we come

There are several versions of this rather scary story on the Internet:

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27a/312.html

Assuming it's true, let's connect some dots:

• Horrific new weapons are being developed
• Armed drones are soon to be everywhere
• Autonomous battlefield robots are soon to be everywhere
• Artificial intelligence is rapidly approaching self-awareness (q.v. The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil)

If you thought about the above story at all, you may have thought it funny that Uncle Sam was melting some ragheads in Iraq. You gonna laugh when something like Skynet melts you and your family?

If you think this "cannot happen here", you are sadly mistaken.

By the way, one of the articles I read about battlefield robots showed a version powered by an external combustion engine which will be fueled by the bodies of its victims. Cute!