'Killer robots' should be banned, say human rights groups

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/nov/19/killer-robots-banned-human-rights



'Killer robots' should be banned, say human rights groups
Richard Norton-Taylor
guardian.co.uk, Monday 19 November 2012 12.19 EST

The use of autonomous drones – "killer robots" that could fire weapons with no human control – must be prohibited by international treaty, human rights campaigners and lawyers have said.

Weapons being developed that could choose and attack targets without human intervention should be pre-emptively banned because of the danger they would pose to civilians in armed conflict, they said.

~snip~

Such weapons do not yet exist, and major powers, including the US, have not decided to deploy them. But precursors are already being developed. The US, China, Germany, Israel, South Korea, Russia and Britain are engaged in researching and developing such weapons. Many experts predict that full autonomy for weapons could be achieved in 20-30 years or sooner, according to the report.

"It is essential to stop the development of killer robots before they show up in national arsenals," Goose said. "As countries become more invested in this technology, it will become harder to persuade them to give it up."