Roboticists have been keeping an eye on squirrels; in particular, their habit of engaging in deceptive practices regarding their hoards of nuts. Squirrels sometimes check a false "hoard" in case other squirrels are watching, just to throw rivals off the track.
(Deceptive Robots Learn Lying From Squirrels)
The project is funded by the Office of Naval Research and is headed by Professor Arkin of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He explains one possible application this way:
"This application could be used by robots guarding ammunition or supplies on the battlefield. If an enemy were present, the robot could change its patrolling strategies to deceive humans or another intelligent machine, buying time until reinforcements are able to arrive."
Science fiction writers have depicted robotic systems or computers that lie in their works; often, it ends badly. In the 1984 film 2010, Dr. Chandra learns at last why the HAL-9000 computer exhibited unusual behavior in the earlier film 2001: A Space Odyssey:
(From 2010 - HAL tries to lie)
"... he was given full knowledge of the two objectives and was told not to reveal these objectives to Bowman or Poole. He was instructed to lie...
The situation was in conflict with the basic purpose of HAL's design - the accurate processing of information without distortion or concealment. He became trapped... HAL was told to lie - by people who find it easy to lie.
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Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'