Chances Of World Peace Increase As Countries Agree To Address 'Killer Robots'

The first steps towards the outlawing of "killer robots" have been taken today by international community. Governments attending a weapons meeting in Geneva have agreed to begin international discussions in May 2014 on utonomous robot weapons.

The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (ALAMY)

"The decision to begin international discussions next year is a major leap forward for efforts to ban killer robots pre-emptively. "Governments have recognized that fully autonomous weapons raise serious legal and ethical concerns, and that urgent action is needed," said Steve Goose, arms director at Human Rights Watch, a co-founder of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.
Governments that are part of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) agreed to convene in Geneva on May 13-16 to discuss the issues related to "lethal autonomous weapons systems," also known as fully autonomous weapons or killer robots. These weapons have not yet been developed, but technology is moving rapidly toward increasing autonomy.
The Convention on Conventional Weapons, adopted in 1980, has been ratified by 117 countries, including those known to be advanced in autonomous weaponry: the United States, China, Israel, Russia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

Israel's Iron Dome system (GETTY IMAGES)

Adopted in 1980, this framework convention contains five protocols, including Protocol I prohibiting fragments which are not detectable by X-rays in the human body, Protocol III, prohibiting the use of air-dropped incendiary weapons in populated areas, and Protocol IV, which pre-emptively banned blinding lasers. "A future Protocol VI prohibiting fully autonomous weapons would be the most important achievement in the life of the Convention on Conventional Weapons," Goose added.
Another founder of the  Stop the Killer Robots coalition and professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at Sheffield University, Noel Sharkey, said:
"People initially accused us of being in some kind of fantasy world. 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. "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.