Log On and Kill An Animal in the Wild

Australian game hunters are logging on to a website that invites its users to shoot live animals with the click of a mouse. The site, denounced as obscene by animal activists, will offer a real-time link to a US game hunting ranch where online shooters can kill their targets. Video cameras will be connected to rifles with sensors that can be controlled by computer users anywhere in the world. The rifle range overlooks a 145ha reserve in San Antonio, Texas, where deer, antelope and wild hogs roam. Paying members will be able to take aim, shoot, then ship their kill to their home, stuffed and mounted as a trophy. The site will even record footage of each kill and sell the grisly DVD to the user.

This is just so wrong. If you want to check it out go to Live-Shot .

We are beginning to blur the lines between video games and reality. The military is now finding that new recruits train faster due to their experience with video games. With the armed Predator drones that the army now has you can do the killing from behind a network enable screen anywhere in the world. I think we are headed towards an Ender's Game scenario (great book, read it if you haven't). How long until the 1st person shooter "video game" that you think you are playing over the internet is actually attached to a robot somewhere that is blowing things up? What is the legal responsibility for such a situation? Is the person who unknowingly pulled the trigger responsible? Or maybe the software designer? What an interesting way for a terrorist attack. Setup your robots and have teenagers playing a "game" do all of the shooting for you. A new time is upon us.

via Herald Sun