I once worked on the camera portion of a semi-autonomous weapon which, once a target was designated, would continually analyze the live image to maintain, track and intercept that target. A key part of the system was a human in the loop abort, which would cause the system to veer off target before impact should the operator see something he or she didn't like: not the intended target, high probability of collateral damage, etc.

The point is, all judgements about selecting the target and aborting the mission or changing targets were in the hands of a human. The automated parts were vehicle operations, corrections for terrain and weather, tracking an operator-designated object, etc. — all things that required no risk assessment, moral judgment, ethical considerations, etc.

That's the difference between autonomous and semi-autonomous: A human identifies the target, and monitors the system to issue a stand down order as new information becomes available.

(It's also the only weapon system I ever worked on, and it caused me great conflict. Though the intended use had merit, the possible unintended uses made me very uncomfortable. No, I can't be more specific.)

This is like charging someone with felony burglary for watching a neighbor hide his key under his doormat, then using it to gain entry and re-arrange the potted plants.

Considering all the possibilities of what he *could* have changed it to, I think he showed admirable restraint...

I doubt a home-built phased array radar will ever be considered "in general public use."

Besides, these devices only see thru walls built inside a garage, which would generally require a search warrant to see either side of...

No. Any electrons that can be "bumped" around by EM radiation with wavelengths longer than UV are already in the conduction band. In other words, the ionization already happened and any induced current occurs in "loose" electrons... or, more likely, existing ions in solution.

It's called non-ionizing radiation for a reason.

And I don't answer my phone in the toilet.

Leave a fucking message — I'll get back to you when my download completes.

PS: That's not my chair that's squeaking.

I've found that you generally need massive amounts of power to paralyze a turkey.

At least a few hundred Watts.

More if you want the center at an edible 160F by dinnertime.

Yanno, it's been years since I've coded (beyond looking thru code to tweak a definition here or there anyway). Decades, even.

But I was taught on the job that range checking of inputs and boundary conditions was essential to reliable code.

Obligatory XKCD reference.

I agree with that. I suspect that if there had been another pilot in the cockpit at all times, Lubitz would have reconsidered his decision rather than engage in a brawl.

Punching a fatal command into a FMS s a different kind of act entirely than physically incapacitating another human, especially a colleague.

It's entirely possible that his decision was spur of the moment (2nd degree) rather than something he had been planning, or else he had been waiting for an opportunity as you describe. But without a letter or other statement intent from Lubitz, all we can do is speculate.

Regular doses of Imodium combined with a "low residue diet" will take care of that. You won't have to go for days.

But when you do go, you're in for a heck of a ride!

Hell, ask any long-haul trucker: a gallon milk jug does the trick.

Wear a "Texas Catheter" if you're modest.

Unfortunately, if one of the pilots wants to take the aircraft somewhere (be it into the side of a mountain, or to Cuba, or wherever) there's little the engineers, airlines or ATC can do about it. Any security measure will have a gap.

And also, the pilots must have control of the aircraft. It's far more likely that an exception to protocol or security will be required to save lives than to endanger them.

Well just for you, then, and only for you, the answer is she should remove her clothes and give him a world class beej while distracting him from the switch she's flipping to unlock the door. And then the pilot comes in and makes it a three-way. Because in your world all flight attendants are hot, slutty females.

Ignorant ass.

Sometimes a cigar[-shaped tube full of people hurtling into a mountainside at 400kts] is just a cigar.

Especially the Western Imperialist Infidel faction.