Why are police officers armed with lethal rounds in the first place? Less lethal "rubber bullets", actually rubber coated steel spheres, should be more than sufficient for all non-SWAT scenarios. While they aren't death or injury free, the mortality rates are vastly lower than lethal munitions while still having considerable stopping power.

Regulations aren't the best solution for every problem. That said, I don't necessarily think some basic rules on drones are a bad idea. This action is going way too far though. It's like gun regulations, requiring that someone pass a gun safety class is sensible, telling them they can't have their gun with them anywhere except in their home is not.

For now, why do you think drones are such a hot market? Deployment of robotic military and police units will be a key factor in maintaining social control for the elite.

You realize that the period prior to the establishment of the Federation was pretty terrible and that's the period we're entering now right?

Personally I'm averse to starving and being homeless, which is where the current system would leave me without work.

I do think it's telling that there is no longer a consensus about it, there used to be.

That would be the optimal outcome yes, the problem is that our socio-economic system isn't setup to work that way.

There are three sectors to the economy: Resources, Manufacturing, Services. When we automated the resource sector people moved to manufacturing, when we automated manufacturing people moved to services, when we automate services where will they go?

You're assuming that strong AI is a requirement. I would suggest that expert systems combined with robotics are more than enough to put the vast majority of the population out of work.

Oh, talk to the lawyers. Lots of them are being automated out of a job right now due to advances in pre-trial discovery software. Strong AI isn't necessary for this process to happen, expert systems will get us 90% of the way there.

If things continue as they proceeding there are three likely outcomes:

1) Tumultuous but non-violent social change to a new order of things, everyone lives happily ever after

2) A successful revolution prior to the deployment of robotic military / police, the 99% execute the 1% and live happily ever after

3) A failed revolution attempted after deployment of robotic military / police, the 1% crush the 99% and live happily ever after

See, all futures are happy, it just depends on your point of view.

Citation please, that's a bold and unsupported assertion.

At the moment I'm not seeing a reason why it's worth the investment. I love space and wish we were doing more but human exploration is expensive and has low ROI. What we really need to do is figure out how to commercialize space, we're not going to get very far at the current pace of a few billion here and there. Only private industry can afford to put in the trillions that would be required to really get things moving.

Then you sir are a communist or a foreigner.

Didn't work particularly well then either.