Fully automatic "smart" killer robots face ban

[David Guyatt]

And rightly so.

Shades of The Terminator or what...

'Killer Robots' could be outlawed

'Killer Robots' could be made illegal if campaigners in Geneva succeed in persuading a UN committee, meeting on Thursday and Friday, to open an investigation into their development

BAE Systems' Taranis, a semi-autonomous unmanned warplane, that will use stealth technology and can fly intercontinental missions and attack both aerial and ground targets Photo: HANDOUT



By Harriet Alexander

7:00AM GMT 14 Nov 2013

The first steps towards the outlawing of "killer robots" could be taken on Thursday, as a UN committee meets to decide whether to investigate banning the controversial technology.

Campaigners are hoping that representatives from 117 states gathering for a two-day annual meeting in Geneva will agree to an inquiry into the development of the machines, which they say pose a serious threat to the world.

"People initially accused us of being in some kind of fantasy world," said Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at Sheffield University, and one of the founders of the Stop the Killer Robots coalition. "But now they have realised that significant developments are already under way.

"At the moment we already have drones, which are supervised by humans I have a lot of issues with these, but they can be used in compliance with international law.

[SUP]The X-47B (GETTY IMAGES)[/SUP]

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"What we are talking about however is fully-automated machines that can select targets and kill them without any human intervention. And that is something we should all be very worried about."
The UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) brings together representatives to discuss issues such as the use of chemical gases and landmines.
France is currently chair of the organisation, and campaigners are hopeful that Ambassador Jean-Hughes Simon-Michel, chairman of the CCW, will persuade delegates to support an inquiry. Just one veto to the proposal, however, would prevent it being discussed.
No country has admitted to developing this kind of technology although Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International UK's Arms Programme Director, said that Britain, the US and Israel were the countries thought to be furthest down the road of development.
"We are not talking about Terminator-style robots," said Mr Sprague. "It is most likely to be a drone or something even more mundane, like a row of computer banks that look through the data, find the target and then call in the order for an attack.
"The UK has said that we would never develop systems that operate without a level of human control. But what does that mean? It could be as little as someone keeping a vague eye on a series of computer monitors."
The campaigners maintain that there is a well-founded fear that computer-controlled devices could "go rogue" or be hacked, jammed or copied by terrorists. They also say that we should not hand decisions over whether something is right and wrong to machines.
[SUP]Israel's Iron Dome system (GETTY IMAGES[/SUP]
Professor Sharkey and his team point to the British development of BAE Systems' Taranis, which was tested last month a semi-autonomous unmanned warplane, that will use stealth technology and can fly intercontinental missions and attack both aerial and ground targets.
Named after the Celtic god of thunder, Taranis will follow a set flight path using on-board computers to perform manoeuvres, avoid threats and identify targets. Only when it needs to attack a target will it seek authorisation from a human controller and experts fear that this human authorisation could eventually be dispensed with.
South Korea has invested in developing a robot the SGR1 equipped with machine guns and grenade launchers, which it has tested to guard its border with North Korea. The robot uses infrared sensors to detect targets from up to two miles away and shoot them although the manufacturers, Samsung Techwin, say that it remains under human control.
"The robots are not being deployed to replace or free up human soldiers," said Huh Kwang-hak, a spokesman for Samsung Techwin. "Rather, they will become part of the defence team with our human soldiers. Human soldiers can easily fall asleep or allow for the depreciation of their concentration over time.
"But these robots have automatic surveillance, which doesn't leave room for anything resembling human laziness."
To illustrate their point, Samsung Techwin produced a Hollywood-style six minute advert for the technology, featuring invading "badies" clad in face paint being identified by the SGR1 and halted by the voice of operators working from the base.
The United States navy, meanwhile, have since the 1980s used a radar-controlled gun system on its ships which campaigners say could become totally automated.
Raytheon, the manufacturers, describe the Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systemas "a self-contained package" which "automatically carries out functions usually performed by multiple systems including search, detection, threat evaluation, tracking, engagement, and kill assessment."
[SUP]The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (ALAMY)[/SUP]
Last month more than 270 engineers, computer experts and robotics scientists from 37 countries signed a statement demanding the ban of the further development of automated systems on such robots.
They said in a joint statement that given the limitations and unknown future risks of autonomous robot weapons technology, their development and deployment should be made illegal.
"Decisions about the application of violent force must not be delegated to machines," they said.
And in April, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Weapons and Protection of Civilians heard a briefing from the campaigners.
Admiral Lord West, who was at the briefing, said: "I find the idea of artificial intelligence doing targeting and weapon delivery quite abhorrent, and I believe we need to do something to make that illegal globally. I think it is extremely dangerous."
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "The MoD has absolutely no intention of developing any weapons systems that do not require any human involvement.
"Remotely-piloted aircraft systems used to protect ground troops in Afghanistan are all controlled by highly-trained military pilots and the rules of engagement are the same as for conventional weapons. There are no plans to replace skilled military personnel with fully autonomous systems."
If France succeeds in getting an agreement in the meeting this week, a group of experts will be convened to assess the technology and report back on their recommendations. Campaigners are hopeful that the technology could be banned in a similar way to the 1995 CCW prohibition of lasers which can be used to blind people.
"We are a way off a total ban, but this would be a vital first step," said Professor Sharkey. "There are a lot of tripwires to be stepped over first and obstacles to be navigated first.
"We are not calling for the ban of all robots in the military. We just want to see the end to those which, without any human intervention whatsoever, can choose who lives or dies."