Updated
The United Nations Human Rights Council has heard an appeal for a freeze on the development and use of killer robots.
The lethal autonomous robots (LARs) are pre-programmed to kill or destroy and, unlike drones, are not controlled by humans once on the battlefield.
The technology is being developed in the United States, Britain and Israel, although none have actually used it yet.
During a debate at the UN Human Rights Council, special rapporteur Professor Christof Heyns said machines lacking morality should not have life-and-death powers over humans.
"War without reflection is mechanical slaughter," he said.
Key points
- Lethal autonomous robots are pre-programmed to kill
- Can make their own decisions and do not need to be controlled by humans
- Supporters say they could save soldiers' lives
- Human rights groups want a complete ban
"In the same way that the taking of any human life deserves as a minimum some deliberation, a decision to allow machines to be deployed to kill human beings worldwide, whatever weapons they use, deserves a collective pause, in other words a moratorium."
Professor Heyns warned that the use of lethal robots could enable war crimes to go unpunished.
"Their deployment may be unacceptable because no adequate system of legal accountability can be devised," he said.
"LARs can potentially be also used by repressive governments to suppress internal domestic opponents.
"Do we want a world in which we can be killed either as combatants or as collateral damage by robots with an algorithm which takes the decision?
"It's this issue of diminishing human responsibility that concerns me," he told reporters.
Human rights groups are taking an even harder line and calling for a complete international ban of the lethal robots before they ever get to the battlefield.
Pakistan's council delegate Mariam Aftab echoed the appeal.
"The international community should consider a complete ban on LARs," she said.
"We believe the experience with drones shows that once such weapons are in use, it is impossible to stop them," she added.
Supporters of LARs say they offer life-saving potential in warfare because they can get closer than troops to assess a threat properly.
The US acknowledged that lethal autonomous weapons could present policy and ethical issues and last November Washington imposed a 10-year human control requirement.
"We call on all states to proceed in a lawful, prudent and responsible manner when considering whether to incorporate automated and autonomous capabilities in weapons systems," said US delegate Stephen Townley.
Britain's council delegate said existing legal provisions were sufficient.
ABC/AFP
Topics: robots-and-artificial-intelligence, international-law, unrest-conflict-and-war, switzerland, pakistan, israel, united-kingdom, united-states
First posted
31 May, 2013
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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHGiQ6Nx3iN5pxV_AsuHi7N2RDX0g&url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-31/un-expert-calls-for-freeze-on-robot-weapons/4724628
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