Weapons of war shouldn’t control themselves

The advent of weapons that can choose and attack targets on their own, without control by humans, brings artificial intelligence and military force into a dangerous new realm. Some scientists and others protest that an ethical boundary is being crossed, and warn that an "autonomous weapons" arms race already is underway.

Representatives from dozens of nations are meeting in Geneva to consider whether development of such weapons should be restricted. Obviously they should be. Human commanders must exert control over the weapons of the future.

Baby, it’s really cold outside — or so we’re told

Our winter weather consists of a little rain and high surf on the North Shore. But the colors on the national weather maps show why we’re lucky to live Hawaii: Bands of cold-weather blues and purples spreading out over most of the mainland, painting a picture of the early arrival of winter.

It’s been pretty brutal in some places: Denver’s high temperature on Veterans Day was 16 degrees, dropping to 1 degree Wednesday afternoon. And an arctic air mass will drop temperatures far below normal across the northern and central parts of the mainland into next week.

So it looks like we may need to put out more welcome mats to help shivering tourists warm up.