UN to debate banning 'killer robots'
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 05/12/2014 06:32 AM
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The conference sounds like something right out of a science fiction movie; ban them before they rise up and rule the world a la Terminator. The push for the ban on these lethal autonomous weapon systems was put in motion with a presentation by UN special rapporteur Christoff Heynes in 2013. The main concern was over the prospect of robots violating the laws of war.
What makes killer robots different from any other weapon system is that there is no human telling the machine whether or not to pull the trigger.
The ban also has organized support from a coalition of at least 45 nongovernmental organizations in 22 countries, with Human Rights Watch taking a leading role.
Key supporters of the ban express concern that there is a major risk that robots could go beyond what their human programmers would want to allow.
However, those opposing a ban admit that there are unique difficulties with robot killers that mean that once they are used, things could get out of hand.
While dismissing the scenario where robots rise up to destroy mankind, as is depicted in the Terminator movies or Battle Star Galactica, they acknowledge that robots could be hacked by adversaries or could malfunction and attack friendly forces or civilians.
What makes killer robots different from any other weapon system is that there is no human telling the machine whether or not to pull the trigger.
The ban also has organized support from a coalition of at least 45 nongovernmental organizations in 22 countries, with Human Rights Watch taking a leading role.
Key supporters of the ban express concern that there is a major risk that robots could go beyond what their human programmers would want to allow.
However, those opposing a ban admit that there are unique difficulties with robot killers that mean that once they are used, things could get out of hand.
While dismissing the scenario where robots rise up to destroy mankind, as is depicted in the Terminator movies or Battle Star Galactica, they acknowledge that robots could be hacked by adversaries or could malfunction and attack friendly forces or civilians.
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