Horror Short Film “Slaughterbots” | ALTER
ALTERCited 8× on HN, 2020–2026
other · general · evergreen · 2020–2026 on HN
Slaughterbots, a short dystopian film in which swarms of small autonomous drones are programmed to kill targets matching a profile. It opens as a slick product launch before turning into a terror scenario.
Used as a reference point in discussions of autonomous weapons, as a once-sci-fi scenario that now looks prescient.
Up next
11 mo on HNWhat Happened to Horses Is Happening to Us
CGP Grey
Recommended 11× on HN · 2014–2026
6 mo on HNWhy Would AI Want to do Bad Things? Instrumental Convergence
Robert Miles AI Safety
Recommended 6× on HN · 2019–2023
6 mo on HNVeritasium: What Everyone Gets Wrong About AI and Learning – Derek Muller Explains
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Recommended 6× on HN · 2025–2026
6 mo on HNIntelligence and Stupidity: The Orthogonality Thesis
Robert Miles AI Safety
Recommended 6× on HN · 2022–2026
6 mo on HNWe're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads | Zeynep Tufekci
TED
Recommended 6× on HN · 2017–2026
5 mo on HNIntro to AI Safety, Remastered
Robert Miles AI Safety
Recommended 6× on HN · 2022–2023
4 mo on HNSparks of AGI: early experiments with GPT-4
Sebastien Bubeck
Recommended 7× on HN · 2023–2026
5 mo on HNWhy Not Just: Think of AGI Like a Corporation?
Robert Miles AI Safety
Recommended 5× on HN · 2020–2023
4 mo on HNThe A.I. Dilemma - March 9, 2023
Center for Humane Technology
Recommended 11× on HN · 2023–2024
4 mo on HNSlaughterbots
Stop Autonomous Weapons
Recommended 4× on HN · 2018–2026
4 mo on HN34C3 - Dude, you broke the Future!
media.ccc.de
Recommended 4× on HN · 2018–2024
4 mo on HNIs AI Safety a Pascal's Mugging?
Robert Miles AI Safety
Recommended 3× on HN · 2019–2026
8 comments from Hacker News
Quick reminder of the "Slaughterbots" video from 9(!) years ago, when the content was still sci-fi. Well, we're catching up... ▶ this video
Even then, Slaughterbots did it first: ▶ this video And you probably don't need fiber optic, because you're operating in "owned space" - the drones sit on charging platforms until needed. You can have, say, additional access points embedded in the walls and ceilings (for a price, but it's children's safety, so who are we to say base station rental is worth more that little Timmy not getting a 5.56 in the back in a signal blackspot!?)
Slaughterbot mini kamikaze drones were hypothesized 5 years ago - ▶ this video AI & drone tech is fast enough that it would be trivial to build these now
It's not enough (but it's still a good idea). "Slaughterbots" ( ▶ this video ) shows a terror angle for some of what technology can do (drones).
For those who can't find the video on the page: link . As hn_throwaway_99 mentions below, the "Slaughterbots" video is not too far off from how STM presents their equipment: ▶ this video .
Seriously, ▶ this video Human 'soldiers' are really only going to be useful in the near future for infiltrating and disrupting social systems, not for dispensing physical violence.
A suicide drone can be used to take out any individual anywhere on the planet, fully remotely and untraceably with minimal collateral damage, while radar, missles and explosives can't. The scenario depicted in the film below is getting closer to reality: ▶ this video Although the above is overdramatised, it's not unrealistinc.
This reminds me of the video released a year ago - ▶ this video Next thing you know there is an AI detecting crime and killing the criminal without making a mess.