At a United Nations meeting in Geneva, two robotics experts, professor Ronald Arkin and professor Noel Sharkey, plan to debate for necessary use of killer robots in our society. According to BBC, this would be the first time a case of killer robots was being addressed at the CCW (Certain Conventional Weapons).
[BBC Excerpt]
—A killer robot is a fully autonomous weapon that can select and engage targets without any human intervention. They do not currently exist but advances in technology are bringing them closer to reality.
Those in favour of killer robots believe the current laws of war may be sufficient to address any problems that might emerge if they are ever deployed, arguing that a moratorium, not an outright ban, should be called if this is not the case.
However, those who oppose their use believe they are a threat to humanity and any autonomous “kill functions” should be banned.
“Autonomous weapons systems cannot be guaranteed to predictably comply with international law,” Prof Sharkey told the BBC. “Nations aren’t talking to each other about this, which poses a big risk to humanity.”
Prof Sharkey is a member and co-founder of the Campaign Against Killer Robots and chairman of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control.
Side events at the CCW will be hosted by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.—
Though a prototype of these robots hasn’t not been fully released, the advanced technology is surely capable of doing so. With technology moving so rapidly, it’s only a matter of time till society is faced with issues similar to Will Smith in I, Robot.
Product Of Society 