The Ides of March bring two disturbing pieces of robot news.
First, Aging Japan builds robot to look after elderly, a story with a must-see photo. I think Old Glory Robot Insurance is going to have to open a branch in Japan.
Second, via Slashdot comes a story about the US Army’s SWORDS robots that are equipped with either the M249, machine gun which fires 5.56-millimeter rounds at 750 rounds per minute or the M240, which fires 7.62-millimeter rounds at up to 1,000 per minute. In other words, robots that are not only capable of, but are designed to break the First Law of Robotics! The Army couldn’t at least start with the Third Law and work down? I sincerely hope they’re at least equipped with red LEDs.