So if this guy doesn’t act according to instructions (assuming that no one is issuing secret orders with the plan to blame it on computer malfunction), who is going to hit the reboot button?
‘Robot arms race’ underway, expert warns
- 12:10 27 February 2008
- NewScientist.com news service
- Tom Simonite
Governments around the world are rushing to develop military robots capable of killing autonomously without considering the legal and moral implications, warns a leading roboticist. But another robotics expert argues that robotic soldiers could perhaps be made more ethical than human ones.
Noel Sharkey of Sheffield University, UK, says he became “really scared” after researching plans outlined by the US and other nations to roboticise their military forces. He will outline his concerns to at a one day conference held in London, UK, on Wednesday.
Over 4000 semi-autonomous robots are already deployed by the US in Iraq, says Sharkey, and other countries – including several European nations, Canada, South Korea, South Africa, Singapore and Israel – are developing similar technologies.