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AUTONOMOUS robots with the ability to make life or death decisions and snuff out the enemy could very soon be a common feature of warfare, as a new-age arms race between world powers heats up.
Harnessing artificial intelligence — and weaponising it for the battlefield and to gain advantage in cyber warfare — has the US, Chinese, Russian and other governments furiously working away to gain the edge over their global counterparts.
But researchers warn of the incredible dangers involved and the “terrifying future” we risk courting.
“The arms race is already starting,” said Professor Toby Walsh from UNSW’s School of Computer Science and Engineering.
He has travelled to speak in front of the United Nations on a number of occasions in an effort to have the international body prevent the proliferation of killer robots.
“It’s not just me but thousands of my colleagues working in the area of robotics ... and were very worried about the escalation of an arms race,” he said.
The US has put artificial intelligence at the centre of its quest to maintain its military dominance.
Robot strike teams, autonomous landmines, missiles with decision-making powers, and covert swarms of minuscule robotic spies were among the technological developments touted in an October report released by the US Department of Defense.
In one particular scenario, a swarm of autonomous drones would hang above a combat zone to scramble the enemy’s communications, provide real-time surveillance, and autonomously fire against the enemy.
It’s a future envisioned by more than just the Pentagon.
Harnessing artificial intelligence — and weaponising it for the battlefield and to gain advantage in cyber warfare — has the US, Chinese, Russian and other governments furiously working away to gain the edge over their global counterparts.
But researchers warn of the incredible dangers involved and the “terrifying future” we risk courting.
“The arms race is already starting,” said Professor Toby Walsh from UNSW’s School of Computer Science and Engineering.
He has travelled to speak in front of the United Nations on a number of occasions in an effort to have the international body prevent the proliferation of killer robots.
“It’s not just me but thousands of my colleagues working in the area of robotics ... and were very worried about the escalation of an arms race,” he said.
The US has put artificial intelligence at the centre of its quest to maintain its military dominance.
Robot strike teams, autonomous landmines, missiles with decision-making powers, and covert swarms of minuscule robotic spies were among the technological developments touted in an October report released by the US Department of Defense.
In one particular scenario, a swarm of autonomous drones would hang above a combat zone to scramble the enemy’s communications, provide real-time surveillance, and autonomously fire against the enemy.
It’s a future envisioned by more than just the Pentagon.
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