January 22, 2005: The Schults Report - Sir Charles Shults III

Art Bell welcomes Sir Charles Shults III, a defense technology expert knighted for his research in robotics and artificial intelligence, for a conversation that begins with breaking news: the U.S. Army is deploying 18 armed robotic soldiers to Iraq. Sir Charles, who spent ten years at Martin Marietta Aerospace working on weapon systems including the Pershing missile and Patriot systems, explains how these remote-controlled machines carry video sensors and machine guns while a human operator retains the final decision to fire.

Art raises the ethical question of sending machines to kill, while Sir Charles argues the robots actually allow more careful decision-making by removing the soldier from immediate danger. He describes sensor technology that can detect heartbeats and breathing through walls using low-energy microwave beams, and predicts domestic helper robots will arrive in less than twenty years.

The discussion shifts to hurricane modification using orbital solar power satellites. Sir Charles reveals that the Space Island Group plans to have hardware flying by late 2007, potentially funded by the insurance industry to protect against a projected 30-year hurricane cycle. He describes three strategies for weakening hurricanes: enhanced contrails to reduce sunlight, biodegradable films to slow ocean evaporation, and microwave beams from orbit to heat ocean surfaces and steer storms away from populated coastlines.