Poll: Controlling soldiers: a hypothetical question.

[zombiejoe]

Let's say that you are the president or leader of a land. Your scientists have found a way to put soldiers in an unconscious state, and control their bodies in combat. They can have someone control the soldiers like a video game, commanding them to go through battles. After their service is up, which let's say is 4 years, they will wake up and have no memories of the years. This means that any horrors that might have happened in battle will not effect them, and it would be like taking a nap and gaining money for it. However, they would loose every memory of those 4 years of life, and have to put their lives in the hands of someone else.

Now they "could" be given a choice, but would you allow this program to happen?

 

[Ham_authority95]

Why not just make unmanned robots to do the job? I'm very sure they would be better protected than squishy humans, especially if I'm going to remote-control them.

I'm terrible at RTS games, so all these soldiers would loose their lives instantly by me throwing them at the enemy in hundreds. I don't think it would be very good PR to have millions of widows and children who lost their spouse and father because a dumbass like me wanted to control them like a game.

 

[Frost 2473]

You're suggesting that I, or a select group of people, control soldiers from the safety of my country while the soldiers risk their lives? In combat where losing could potentially cause the genocide of my people? No, just no. For blood sport and infiltrating criminal organizations, sure, but for war? I would commit seppuku with a rusty spoon before that happened.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

I don't see it as morally wrong so long as everyone signs up. The only problem is is that you'd be putting the lives of soldiers in the hands of some person miles behind the lines most likely. Which means they're more likely to be careless and also won't be getting all the info straight from the frontline. It's always been there, that conflict between the officers who know only the big picture and the soldiers who only know the small picture.

 

[Thaluikhain]

"Only following orders" isn't supposed to be a defence for crimes.

In that situation, the soldiers can't not follow orders. Anything they are ordered to do, they blindly do without question. Can o' worms there.

Also, consent that cannot be revoked is not consent and all, even though they have signed up and all.

 

[omega_peaches]

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I GET THE NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE?!!??!?!?!!?!?
OT:I would say yes, but they would get to choose, so there is an option to put your life on the line.

 

[IkeGreil29]

Sounds like FEAR to me. Make a super-commander (in this case commanders) and just pray to God they won't go nuts and use that army against you. Supposing you could get over all the technical difficulties, I would consider it, but there's always a way for things to go wrong.

 

[AzureRaven]

I couldn't ever agree to something like that. Soldiers do more in those 4 years than JUST fight. They'll often still retain contact with close loved ones. And you're asking them to basically go into a 4 year life-threatening coma to be controlled by someone who most likely has much less regard for their lives than they do. I'd rather control my own fate, even it means dealing with horrors of war.

 

[LetalisK]

Uh...no. That's a bad idea. Why would you deliberately cut out three of our fives senses and hinder at least another one?

 

[andreas3K]

What's wrong with the soldiers controlling themselves? What would be the advantage of remote control?

Remote control would make sense if the soldiers were disposable mindless clones instead of normal humans.

 

[Fenring]

No. That lower the fighting potential of the soldiers and thus would not be advisable for any military. Soldiers would still need to be put through some sort of training to get them fit and ready for combat, you would then have to train those controlling the soldiers, buy the hardware to control them, buy the implants for the soldiers, create a network to allow such a widespread control, and need to pay twice the amount of active soldiers (one to control and one to be controlled). Not to mention you're going to lose some fidelity of senses in the transfer, and of course some lag would be induced, which would be non-existent with a real soldier in charge of himself.

TL;DR, it is not a good idea which brings with it all the problems of a robotic force, but none of the boons, such as reduced loss of life, or increased strength and durability.

 

[Lyiat]

Here's the thing. They arn't video game avatars. They have biological limitations. You could force their bodies to do things that they wouldn't normally do and damage them irreparably. A jump you'd see as safe might break their legs, a jump they wouldn't normally make if they were in control. If you had them running for a long period of time, you couldn't feel their legs. Bone spurs could form, blisters, lesions, infection.... You'd be killing them all in a very sort amount of time. It simply wouldn't work.

 

[Watchmacallit]

Like hell I would let someone control me. The urge for me to survive is much higher in me than in another person controlling me.

 

[sagejosh]

well first off if you have this sophisticated technology why not robots? also even though you dont get the down side of fear from soldiers u also dont the the adrenalin perks that make you really focused. so the gamer (which im assuming you would have to have an army of gamers behind the real army other wise we would be fucked) would be much more careless due to it not being their life on the line and they dont have a constant adrenalin rush. this seems like an idea some one would come up with after watching a certain Gerard Butler movie.

 

[Tilted_Logic]

No.

What if the soldier was to die? At least let him go out fighting for himself, not with some detached nonchalant fellow half way across the country controlling his movements.

It does vaguely remind me of Dollhouse by Joss Whedon though. And while I was extremely opposed to the whole idea of a Dollhouse to begin with, as the show went on it became less of an abomination to me. Not prostitution mind you, but if you were to agree to a contract that would see you paid for life, you only had to donate a few years time, and at the end of it you wouldn't remember a thing... I could see that making sense for many people. But still, no situations in which you are severely putting your life in danger.