HRW : Fully Autonomous Weapons Would Increase Danger to Civilians
 

Giving machines the power to decide who lives and dies on the battlefield would take technology too far. Human control of robotic warfare is essential to minimizing civilian deaths and injuries.


Steve Goose, arms director
(Washington, DC) – Governments should pre-emptively ban fully autonomous weapons because of the danger they pose to civilians in armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. These future weapons, sometimes called “killer robots,” would be able to choose and fire on targets without human intervention.

The 50-page report, “Losing Humanity: The Case Against Killer Robots,” outlines concerns about these fully autonomous weapons, which would inherently lack human qualities that provide legal and non-legal checks on the killing of civilians. In addition, the obstacles to holding anyone accountable for harm caused by the weapons would weaken the law’s power to deter future violations.

“Giving machines the power to decide who lives and dies on the battlefield would take technology too far,” said Steve Goose, Arms Division director at Human Rights Watch. “Human control of robotic warfare is essential to minimizing civilian deaths and injuries.”

“Losing Humanity” is the first major publication about fully autonomous weapons by a nongovernmental organization and is based on extensive research into the law, technology, and ethics of these proposed weapons. It is jointly published by Human Rights Watch and the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic.

Human Rights Watch and the International Human Rights Clinic called for an international treaty that would absolutely prohibit the development, production, and use of fully autonomous weapons. They also called on individual nations to pass laws and adopt policies as important measures to prevent development, production, and use of such weapons at the domestic level.

Fully autonomous weapons do not yet exist, and major powers, including the United States, have not made a decision to deploy them. But high-tech militaries are developing or have already deployed precursors that illustrate the push toward greater autonomy for machines on the battlefield. The United States is a leader in this technological development. Several other countries – including China, Germany, Israel, South Korea, Russia, and the United Kingdom – have also been involved. Many experts predict that full autonomy for weapons could be achieved in 20 to 30 years, and some think even sooner.


Bron: politics.be

FAW's tegen elkaar inzetten zou soldaten overbodig maken en manueel uitgevochten oorlogen ook.

Ik denk eerder dat het laten uitvechten van conflicten in een olympische arena
door de regeringsleiders en hun "hoogste generaal" het aantal oorlogen en de kans erop zeer drastisch zou verkleinen.

De burgers van de tegenpartij bij middel van robotica treffen lijkt me een vel minder goed idee.

Helaas is dat zo niet. Stel U voor DiRupo tegenover Obama.

Neen, laat het ons doen met een vuurstenen bijl. Met atoombommen. Of nog leuker, chemische wapens. Of als we echt riskant gaan doen, biologische.

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