Weapons

Why Lethal Autonomic Weapons Offer The World A Dark Future

When it comes to AI, job loss is high on people's list of concerns but my fears and trepidation comes more from the drone industry - especially when mixed with the military.  Drones are nothing new in warfare but thanks to AI and the ability to strap on weapons to drones we are entering a new era. What once was for identification and recon is now capable of delivering payloads, firing rounds and much more besides. The issue? Who controls the firing mechanism - the drone or the pilot? The phrase “new arms race” keeps coming up when people talk about autonomous weapons systems - where are we in the race? Has it begun? Is it on the final lap? Who are the contenders?

Drones can be used for good in the military (drones making a bridge for example or firefighting) but we are fast moving into vastly unchartered waters thanks to AI and the ability for drones to self-police becoming a very realreality. Last month (April 9-13), the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons met for the second time to hammer out a treaty on lethal autonomous weapons systems (known as LAWS). Nearly every nation agreed that humans need to retain control of drones but several disagreed about "meaningful human control" wording. A slight cause for alarm. More talks are planned but will a ban such drones do any good?