Will There Be a Ban on Killer Robots? (not in the near future)
The possibility of software and algorithms making life-or-death decisionshas added new urgency to efforts by a group called the Campaign To Stop Killer Robots that has pulled together arms control advocates, humans rights groups and technologists to urge the United Nations to craft a global treaty that bans weapons without people at the controls. Like cyberspace, where there aren’t clear rules of engagement for online attacks, no red lines have been defined over the use of automated weaponry.
Without a nonproliferation agreement, some diplomats fear the world will plunge into an algorithm-driven arms race.
Twenty-six countries have called for an explicit ban that requires some form of human control in the use of force. But the prospects for an A.I. weapons ban are low. Several influential countries including the United States are unwilling to place limits while the technology is still in development.
“A lot of A.I. technologies are being developed outside of government and released to the public,” said Jack Clark, a spokesman for OpenAI, a Silicon Valley group that advocates for more measured adoption of artificial intelligence. “These technologies have generic capabilities that can be applied in many different domains, including in weaponization.”
Defense contractors, identifying a new source of revenue, are eager to build the next-generation machinery. Last year, Boeing reorganized its defense business to include a division focused on drones and other unmanned weaponry. The company also bought Aurora Flight Sciences, a maker of autonomous aircrafts. Other defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and Raytheon are making similar shifts.
“You’re delegating the decision to kill to a machine,” said Thomas Hajnoczi, the head of disarmament department for the Austrian government. “A machine doesn’t have any measure of moral judgment or mercy.”
See the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/19/technology/artificial-intelligence-weapons.html