Changing the Options on Killer Robots
We live in grotesquely interesting times
“ Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has reached a point where the deployment of such systems is — practically if not legally — feasible within years, not decades, and the stakes are high: autonomous weapons have been described as the third revolution in warfare, after gunpowder and nuclear arms…The key question for humanity today is whether to start a global AI arms race or to prevent it from starting. If any major military power pushes ahead with AI weapon development, a global arms race is virtually inevitable” — Autonomous Weapons: an Open Letter from AI & Robotics
Big names, who are normally associated with embracing technology are calling on a ban of, “Offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control”, aka killer robots. Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and Stephen Hawkins are among the signatories of a now famous open letter, announced July 28 at the opening of the IJCAI 2015 conference.
The letter points out that the big difference, between robots and other weapons, is that they are run on software and hardware, that could be pirated and become pervasive quickly and easily. This would be a great futuristic leap forward in technological warfare, and an even greater leap backwards in political and social relations.
The letter states that, “It will only be a matter of time until they appear on the black market and in the hands of terrorists, dictators wishing to better control their populace, warlords wishing to perpetrate ethnic cleansing, etc. Autonomous weapons are ideal for tasks such as assassinations, destabilizing nations, subduing populations and selectively killing a particular ethnic group”
We need to think differently, and quickly
However the above appeal runs counter to the trajectory of global politics. If we look at the full political spectrum of global politics in play today, it points towards an arms race, not curbs and controls to it. We can see hostile blocks re-merging, Far-right, xenophobic mobilisation and identity politics from those in power, both politicians and billionaires.
As well as the unapologetic, unlimited and opaque fusion of technology, innovation and security in all paths of invention. All of these, helped by the loss of privacy, which has hurt grass roots level organising for concepts like human rights and non-violence.
This is further made more complicated by the gap between rich and poor both within and between countries, and the corresponding access to knowledge and information, and education, and thus solutions, of those involved in and around conflict.
We need different choices
The choice being put forward is, Autonomous weapons or Ban-Autonomous weapons. However for the largest mobilisation, it may be better to think in a different frame all together. The choice may need to be made into, Non-Lethal Weapons or Dialogue. The biggest obstacle is, we don’t have a non-lethal weapons industry. The existence of weapons that don’t kill and can’t kill, but can exert control, forces everybody down a path of judicial process, rule of law, and human rights. It changes the way we look at the act of killing, it changes our cultural perception of murder.
Death becomes needless in legitimate aims, as all control can be exerted without it. It also means those that use, manufacture, and distribution of lethal weapons, by definition become illegitimate. No doubt it will throw up, its own moral considerations but they will hopefully be less costly.
Robots and AI, then become tools of disarmament and only disarmament. And can be infinitely innovated to disarm both humans and other robots.
Previous Posts
On Choice
- Good Robots
- Can we have a better choice then “Shoot to Kill”, please?
- Inventors, Engineers, Innovators — Where are you?
- Changing the Options on Killer Robots
- Have you seen this virus?
On Truth
- Understanding Data in War and Peace
- News Neutrality and News Integrity — societies need for impartial and truthful information.
- Has Anybody Seen the Truth Lately?
On Change
On Progress
- Art, Heart and Progress — Art Activism
- Art, Heart and Progress — The Artists
- Art, Heart and Progress — Photography
- Walking Backwards Slowly
- The Devil Is in The Detail
On Privacy
- The Supermen have not been kind
- Creating a Culture of Privacy
- The Hunt — Part I — Data Theft and Interstate Rivalry
- The Hunt — Part II — Data Theft As A Service
- The Hunt — Part III — Phone Breaker Technology
Images
Martians Vs HMS Thunder Child, 1906 — Cover Artwork, Drawing for the novel The War of the Worlds, showing a Martian fighting-machine battling with the warship Thunder Child.
Robot holding a dead man, artist and title of work unknown.
References
2016 — StopKillerRobots.org, Experts on killer robots at Davos by Campaign to Stop Killer Robots
2015, 28th July, 2015, futureoflife.org , Autonomous Weapons: an Open Letter from AI & Robotics Researchers with list of signatories, The Future of Life Institute
2016, Human Rights Watch, Killer Robots campaign for pre-emptive laws to enforce accountability on the use of autonomous weapons
2016, 24th Feb, BBC online, Remarkable Boston Dynamics robot puts up with bullying, by Dave Lee
2016, 13th Feb, The Telegraph, Robots will take over most jobs within 30 years, experts warn by Sarah Knapton, Science Editor in Washington
2016, 12th Feb, CIO.com, How to prepare IT workers for the impact of automation, by Stephanie Overby
2015, 12th Dec, The Independent, How fearful should we be about the rise of the robots?, by Jamie Nimmo
