Our remote control furry friends

I'm not to sure about the idea of remote control animals. What do you think?

Rodent rescue ops

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I find it kind of creepy.

There are concerns about the ethics of controlling another species, but also about future applications of this technology. Could it be used, Big Brother-style, to control human behavior, consumer spending, or even worker productivity?

Peace.

 

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Have you ever read The Stainless Steel Rat ? Fun book, no remote control pets, though.

 

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That's cruel, and why do they want to do that? For military purposes? Instead of humans, they now have remote controlled animals. Why not use robots instead....because animals are cheaper, and it is, after all, all about the money, let's not forget that.

 

Pine_Net, could you re-post the link you posted in the thread starter?

I tried to go to it and it errored:bugeye:

 

Actually the way they did it the animal wasn't "completely" controlled. They had three stimulating electodes in the brain. Two for right and left whisker sensations. One that stimulated reward (in nucleus accumbus). If they wanted the animal to turn left, they'd stimulate a left whisker sensation in the brain and the animal would be more likely to turn left, if it did it would be rewarded. So it soon learned (operant conditioning) that which ever the direction the whiskers were stimulated it should turn to get reward. It's not too much different from how you steer a horse with your knees or harness, other than you are stimulating at a brain level. But still scarey.

A professor that I had told me how he would have done it, that would take no operant conditioning training at all. Even scarier.

 

Yes, in certain ways. Only if ethics dissolved however.

-Xenu

 

I had worked out how manipulation could occur, but it involves mapping a neural pathway and then overlay the map on an extremely lower quanta level until you get the desired effect.

I mention this just because the powers that be, with their incesent abuse desire me to output the info.

 

All you'd really have to do is stick an electrode in nucleus accumbus (the part of the brain that mediates reward) and zap them whenever they do something you want them to. Basic operant conditioning but in a unnatural way.

The person will become addicted and do whatever you want for stimulation.

-Xenu

 

Do you think this is something that should be pursued? If so, then why?

 

No, but it doesn't mean that others (in higher positions of power) don't think so.

But if you look at Capitalist societies it's already being pursued. Instead of electrodes we have commercials that tap into emotions and make people buy what they really don't need.

Electrodes would certainly make things easier.

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hi

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I agree that it is not right to control animals, but think of the positive aspects. Humans beings could be safer because animal attacks on humans will no longer be a problem. Also, animals could help humans do a lot of labour work such as using controlled elephants to help lift heavy logs etc. Just a thought.

 

No way. Animals are not here to be slaves for humans, they have right to their own life.

 

Bebelina...animals are already slaves. Define 'slave'. If this is the slave I think we're talking about, then why do we even use horses (or why do some people do)? Why even eat meat?? Why even drink animal milk???

 

Those electrodes are just a quicker way of doing what we already do to animals.

If they do what we want, we give em treats, petting, etc. The electrodes stimulate the 'pleasure' sensors in the brain.

If they don't do what we want or do something bad, we whip em, spank em, yell at em, speak harshly at em etc. The electrodes stimulate the 'pain' sensors in the brain.

If we completely ripped apart the brain and hooked electrodes up to the motor neurons to totally control movement it would be slavery. But that's not what they're doing now.

And besides, robots are dumb. Unless we get AI, then we wouldn't need remote controlled furry friends (and the word 'remote controlled' is a misnomer too)

 

I can't even begin to say how disgusted I am with your views on animals....

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It is wrong to kill animals for meat or fur or whatever.
It is wrong to keep them captive just to look them at or train them to do silly tricks for our amusement, or work for us.
If you want to have an animal as companion, as your pet, then you must treat this being with respect and certainly not hit it or cause pain to it any way.

 

Unless you're an animal loving vegetarian I'd say you're being hypocritical.

 

If you are, though...no comment

 

And why do you write in big red letters?? Is this a ploy to get noticed?

 

Rodents just happened to be a first step in an evolving Cybernetics race. It's not just about a sensation for a rodent to change direction to be reward at the end of this, it's the possibility of people having Prosthetic limbs that don't just respond with movement to a neural pattern but can also tell the person when they are pressing there fingers tight enough to pick up an object, instead of crushing it or not having any sensative controls.

I can understand the prospective fears of animals being mainpulated for the purpose of man, but this is a fear that has been documented in even scifi from "Mans best friend" to "Johnny Mneumonic" which had "Jones the SQUID dolphin" that had been trained to hunt down enemy subs and mines.
(This mirrored the original training that the US navy attempted with Dolphins for Mine detection. [If thats wrong correct me])

Animals have been trained for many years admittedly, notibly Dogs began as wolves, that came closer to man because it was easier to be with man than hunt along. Man provide scraps of food in turn for companionship (Or eating the dog in harsh times)

Cats were domesticated to try and remove the threat of vermin, with the use of cats plagues began to die out. (without cats, we wouldn't have had a future)

I can understand the hate for caging animals, for it's not right to withhold freedom from something that belongs free. But dogs and cats have been domesticated for many generations, do they know what true freedom is about anymore?
(Okay some would survive, others wouldn't)

Eating animals isn't necessary the best form of getting food, but I don't think it's wrong. When you look to the wild you see in nature one animal predatory over another in a survivial of the fittest stance. The food and the feeder(eater).

I can understand about complaints of battery farming, or the methods used to put something to death.


None of this means I treat an animal badly, although I might not have treated certain humans as well as I treat animals it's about working out what the best approach is at the end of the day. (For a human at least)