Kalashnikov now making killer robots
Russian arms manufacturer Kalashnikov have made a fully automated killer robot. Robotics in war is nothing new, in 2009 I sat in the passenger seat of a Panther controlling a mounted GPMG with a joystick but this is the first time (I'm aware of) that the machine is making the decision to kill.
This is a worrying development. No-one is ever really capable of making the right call in a split second to take a life 100% of the time, but at least a soldier knows that if he kills without any justification he will face prosecution back home (theoretically at least). A machine is essentially a psychopath. It will feel no remorse, no hesitation, no need for de-escalation. A life is judged in binary and found either worthy or unworthy. Much like drone; it takes the act of killing and makes it so remote and unremarkable , so it doesn't cause any headlines back home.
Good thoughts. I'm with you thinking they should be banned.
With the progress of machine learning, facial recognition, algorithms etc, you'll likely see a point where machines are actually able to make these choices better than a person, they certainly don't feel pressure and make hasty decisions based on their own survival.
Certainly lots to think about on this subject! But as someone who has spent a lot of time in warzones as well, humans can make some pretty bad decisions alone sometime.
My main problem is the lack of consequences. Here in the UK, when a soldier was killed it made the news, and everyone in theatre hears about it. This has an effect of forcing the public and politicians to reassess the war and think about whether or not it's a good idea. If you make war so remote, it allows people to have cognitive dissonance.
I agree, one would hope, that in the future... if we are advanced enough to have thinking, killer robots it may just be time to be civil to one and other and work for peaceful solutions.
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