Last week several well-known individuals including Steve Wozniak, Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking expressed their concerns about the development and use of killer robots.
Now consider that over 1,000 artificial intelligence professionals involved in research, along with others, have signed an open letter that calls for a ban on autonomous weapons that select and engage targets without humans being directly involved in the decision.
INTEL: According the Guardian, the UK is opposed to the international ban on developing killer robots.
Do not think this is science fiction. Those behind the initiation of the campaign to stop killer robots admit they are trying to be provocative, and there are many who are actually concerned. One source has stated that the technology has been developed and may have already be deployed. If that is true, that certainly raises the issue of cyber security on those robotic systems from the development stage through their operations.
If they were to be deployed with inadequate security measures during development, even a robotic system not designed to be lethal could be manipulated to deliver a lethal blow. Just consider those robotic systems used in autonomous reconnaissance systems. These systems could be hacked and the vehicle instructed to run over and kill individuals.
Alternatively, how about those used in delicate medical procedures? Just imagine the lethality of a robot used in heart or brain surgery being hacked and given commands for wild movement. As we have learned the hard way, any computerized system can be compromised as they move through their design and development process.
Currently there is no agreement on the definition of a killer robot. One definition is fairly broad and basically includes any robot that can choose to use force against a human. That is general enough to include robots that use force against humans that is not lethal. At this point, there is very little chance for any such agreement being put in place.That being said, the call to ban killer robots did start a conversation about their development and use. How far that will go is anyone's guess.
