New Scientist Story and Concept Courtesy of Center Faculty Fellow, Joel Garreau
It begins with a starfish…
The article begins , “[a] KILLER hangs in the crystal clear waters around the Great Barrier Reef. It’s not the box jellyfish, although they are present, along with sharks and stingrays. This predator carries a highly effective poison and can roam for 8 hours at a stretch, terminating up to 200 marks in that time. This is one of the world’s most advanced killer drones.
Thankfully, humans aren’t in its cross hairs. Instead, it hunts down starfish. But not just any starfish. These threaten the very existence of the Great Barrier Reef, and this robot’s mission is to protect it.
Yet the robot is crossing a boundary that many find uncomfortable: it makes the “kill decision” autonomously, taking away all input from humans. Is that a safe price to pay to save the reef?
Crown of thorns starfish (COTS) are among the largest starfish, with up to 21 arms bristling with spikes. In a healthy reef they are a positive force, nibbling on the most rampant corals, keeping them in check and giving slower-growing species a foothold.
The problem comes when their numbers run out of control. It’s not easy to know their numbers precisely. One way to find out is to tow a diver behind a boat for a series of 2 minute intervals and ask them to count starfish. Obviously they miss a few. But as a rough guide, a healthy reef might have about one crown of thorns starfish per hectare, an area about the size of one and a half football pitches. It’s considered unsustainable when that rises to 15 per hectare…”
To continue reading the article, New Scientist requests that readers subscribe or log in here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22930560-700-can-this-starfish-killing-robot-save-the-great-barrier-reef/. Nonetheless, there are other accessible reports on the topic when one searches the title. But one need not even go beyond the above excerpt for frightening images to come to mind relating to the deployment of a fully-autonomous and very effective killing machine. Thankfully, the device is apparently not connected to the internet (phew!) and is so specifically designed, that it is not subject to mishandling. We are so relieved. Really, what could possibly go wrong?