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Blue Group

Explore the detrimental effects of military participation in computing research from ethical & financial perspectives. Analysis includes reallocation of funds for societal improvement.

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Blue Group

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  1. Blue Group • The Motion:The involvement of the Military is good for computing • We are against this motion

  2. The Blue Team Team LeaderEoghan Cunneen Serena Cameirano Sarah Fortune (Helper) Brian Cullen John Curtis (Helper) Ekaterina Aksenova Andrew Collins (Helper Ivan Byrne Diarmuid Delaney Other Tasks PowerPoint - J Curtis

  3. Our Argument • Speaker 1 : Serena Cameirano • Just how is the military bad for computing from an ethical viewpoint? • Speaker 2 : Brian Cullen • How much better could research money be spent? • Technological Determinism • Speaker 3 : Ekaterina Aksenova • An example, United States of America vs. Japan • Difference in emphasis of research (the military vs. the consumer) • Both from an ethical & practical point of view the involvement of the military is ultimately bad for computing

  4. Definitions • The military is not important to computing, in that the inventions derived from military research could and ultimately would have been developed in the private sector possibly cheaper & in a more open environment

  5. Speaker 1 • Serena Cameirano

  6. Ethic ‘Progress’ is the gradual betterment of mankind and the development of society It increases the availability of knowledge

  7. Ethic • Who is to say if these inventions can’t be invented otherwise? • How can military research help the improvement of society? It can’t! • Imagine how many ways the budget for military research could be spent? To help people, not hurt people!

  8. Before……

  9. …Then…

  10. …and After

  11. U.S FY'03 DISCRETIONARY BUDGET REQUEST: $ in Billions

  12. ….And what the US Government doesn’t consider as primary needing… Health "25% of the people of Texas had no health insurance in the year 2000.“ Health care is a basic human need that is not being subsidised by the U.S. government www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Military_Budget/ Military_Budget_watch.html- 9k OR

  13. GLOBAL PRIORITIES In 1996, the World Game Institute conducted a study entitled What the World Wants. Analysts estimated that for approximately 30% of the 1996 world military expenditures ($810 billion), all of the following could have been accomplished: • Eliminate Starvation and Malnutrition ($19 billion)• Provide Shelter ($21 billion)• Remove Landmines ($4 billion)• Build Democracy ($3 billion) • Eliminate Nuclear Weapons ($7 billion)• Refugee Relief ($5 billion)• Eliminate Illiteracy ($5 billion)• Provide Clean, Safe Water ($10 billion)• Provide Health Care and AIDS Control ($21 billion) • Stop Deforestation ($7 billion) • Prevent Global Warming ($8 billion) • Stabilize Population ($10.5 billion)• Prevent Acid Rain ($8 billion)• Provide Clean, Safe Energy: Energy Efficiency ($33 billion), Renewable Energy ($17 billion) • Stop Ozone Depletion ($5 billion)• Prevent Soil Erosion ($24 billion)• Retire Developing Nations Debt ($30 billion)

  14. In the meantime the rest of the world… The UN Development Programme's Human Development Report 2001 provides a snapshot of these conditions around the world: * More than 854 million adults are illiterate, including 543 million women; * Over 960 million people lack access to improved water resources; * 325 million children do not attend school, including 183 million girls; * 11 million children under five die each year from preventable diseases; * 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day, and 2.8 billion live on less than $2 a day; and * Employment and economic growth in Arab countries has lagged well behind all but the poorest countries in Africa over the past decade. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Military_Budget/Wasteful_Military_Bud_2003.html

  15. In Conclusion All the inventions that the military gave us could be obtained in other ways All this money could be spent in more beneficial research that aims to help improve the Society not to kill people or destroy

  16. Speaker 2 • Brian Cullen

  17. DARPA Summary Report http://www.darpa.mil/body/pdf/R-1ExhibitFY0105PresBudJan00.pdf

  18. DARPA Accomplishments http://www.darpa.mil/darpatech2002/presentations/diro_pdf/slides/tetherdt021.pdf

  19. GPS • Its easy to see how technologies like GPS have good applications to computing • But was it the militaries intention to help hikers that get lost in the mountains • NO… • Lets see what they really wanted to build with all that money

  20. Star Wars • Part of the proposed Star Wars system • Relies completely on computers, and therefore computer related spin offs are almost inevitable • The current US missile defence plan is for a multilayered set of land, sea, air and space based systems that has been estimated to cost anywhere between $60 and $200 billion. • Not only would US taxpayers' money be wasted, it would also cost the people of the world the hard-won progress already made on nuclear arms control and disarmament. • "We're against having a cure that is worse than the disease." Russian President Vladimir Putin on NMD, June 4, 2000 http://www.stopstarwars.org/html/intro.html

  21. Why The US • But spin-off technologies in most cases seem to come from the US military. • So why does everything seem to come from the US

  22. Military Budget – Countries In Billions2003

  23. Could Money Be Better Spent • If we pump so much money into military research and development we are bound to get some good Spin-Off technologies. • But what could we get instead if we gave the money to civilian research companies. Spin-Off Military Research Tax Payers Money GPS Internet Microwaves Genome Project Laser Telegraphy Light bulb Electricity  Radio Printing Press Civilian Research

  24. Genome The Human Genome Project, “we, after 4 billion years of evolution, are a life-form that is reading its own set of instructions” [Sir John Sulston, leader of the British effort in the project] Computers were fundamentalin mapping the human genome "At the outset, the U.S. Congress was told the project would cost about $3 billion in FY 1991 dollars and would be completed by the end of 2005. In actuality, the Human Genome Project was finished two and a half years ahead of time and, at $2.7 billion in FY 1991 dollars, significantly under original spending projections." [BETHESDA, Md., April 14, 2003] Crucial for cancer treatment, genetic diseases etc. In 1990 scientists knew of only 100 human disease genes, now we know of over 1,400 of these genes [U.S. Dept. of Energy Human Genome Program]

  25. Speaker 3 • Ekaterina Aksenova

  26. America vs. Japan: Militarism vs. Consumerism • Japan mostly concentrates on the IT research • USA mostly concentrates on the military research • Japan is the leader in the electronic production • All the things we cant imagine our life without now came from Japan (e.g. Sony walkman)

  27. Military vs. Civilian life • ‘I am a war President – with war on my mind’ • The Nation, February 10, 2004 • Although many inventions in the USA came from military (e.g. GPS, wireless technologies) at what cost were these inventions • People under total control • Japan concentrates research & development in IT, medicine, safety, to promote the well being of society of a whole

  28. Infrastructure • Japan gains military power without cut back in other areas • Although Japan increase military expenditure by 6% a year they still only spend 1% of their GNP on military • This allows Japan to make rapid advancements in the area of R&D which has numerous advantages to computing

  29. Internet • Where internet came from? • Number of internet users in the USA in October 2000 was 84.076 millions people • The number of internet users in Japan by 74% to 47.08 millions in 2000 • 23.64 millions Japanese logging onto the net from there mobile • ‘ Colossal potential of www

  30. Summary • Summary of Group’s Argument. • Sure, the involvement of the military has had clear benefits for computers. • Are their priorities in the right place? • Ultimately, money should be funded into helping PEOPLE and SOCIETIES, not into destroying them. • Would the likes of the internet or GPS have been developed eventually without the involvement of military? Yes (and likely at a lower cost with less secrecy, and hence more benefit to society) • What would have happened if we had developed GPS or the Internet commercially? We have seen how they have flourished around the world with non military applications! If more R&D was non-military based think of the possibilities! • Military by its very nature is closed, and secretive and therefore not suited for technological development. “The military research surrounding some of both British & American research impeded the spread of new technology. Most academic research felt advances would come faster in an atmosphere of free exchange of ideas and results”www.si.umich.edu/~pne/PDF/cw.ch2.pdf - University of Michigan

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