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This is Trace for DNews! Robocop is out in theaters, promising action and a crazy cool

reimagining of the 1980s robotic future film set in Detroit. The old film had a lot of social commentary,

and represented the fear of turning over our safety to the dominion of robots. 30 years

later, with robotics permeating more of our society than ever, the concern is still real,

and far closer to the surface. ... I mean, we may not be ready to put a man's head into

a machine body, but we got a chance to talk to the cast of the new Robocop to ask them

why the idea of a robotic human hybrid is so compelling.

It can just take us to a place where we have to be careful of the consequences. There's

an interesting emotional aspect of this [film] that's also a moral dilemma: when do you stop

being a human being and when are you a machine?

I'm not talking about singularity, but in the case of Robocop, he's amputated from his

throat down. The rest of his body is mechanic and he also has artificial intelligence implants

in his brain that control some of his decision making.

We have to be careful of the consequences.

I just think the idea of the combination of man and machine is quite the delicious cocktail.

The best free roaming humanoid robot we've got now, according to the DARPA Robotics Challenge,

is SCHAFT. The Japanese robot isn't as sexy as RoboCop, but it's designed to help with

nuclear disasters, not to look good while battling on camera. SCHAFT doesn't inspire

quite as much fear. It can drive a car, navigate rough terrain, remove debris, open doors,

cut holes in walls and manage a number of other dexterous tasks like hooking up hoses

and turning valves -- all extremely valuable in disaster scenarios, but not exactly the

scariest robot in the world. And SCHAFT is nowhere near to being the robot-human hybrid

that Robocop is.

The new film deals with drone warfare, too. In the year 2028, Robocop is created by the

multinational conglomerate "Omnicorp" as a way to circumvent a new law prohibiting drones

from bearing firearms.

As of today, private unmanned aerial vehicles that fly above 400 feet are still prohibited

by the FAA, though there's a mandate for American airspace wide open to drones by September

30, 2015. So far, filmmakers, border-patrol and police have made some basic use of domestic

drones, but at the moment they're still expensive and hard to find here at home. The U.S. military,

though, they've deployed 11,000 drones since 2002, and 50 countries have their own drone

programs -- including China, Israel, and Iran. We might be looking at a future without humans

at the control stick.

Luckily for us, RoboCop is still safely in the realm of science-fiction, but the technology

is on the horizon. Drones can already fly, drive, run and navigate disaster area -- but

are we REALLY that far off from a military robot soldier? Would we be somehow LESS afraid

of cyborgs than straight-up robots?

There's always going to be a man behind the machine behind the machine behind the machines...

There's never going to be a finger that's pointed nowhere.

As technology advances and predictions of the merging of man and machine looms, our

laws, police, and citizenry are going to be rushing to keep up with the advance...

If something like RoboCop really existed and you came across him, how would you feel?

It's freaky to me. As Gary, I'd be very weary. I'd be a little unnerved by it.

What do you think? Is a human-robot hybrid the future? Or pure drone warfare like in

other movies and science fiction? Release your paranoia in the comments, thanks for

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