By DANIEL VICTOR

Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, along with hundreds of artificial intelligence researchers and experts, are calling for a worldwide ban on so-called autonomous weapons, warning that they could set off a revolution in weaponry comparable to gunpowder and nuclear arms.

In a letter unveiled as researchers gathered at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aires on Monday, the signatories argued that the deployment of robots capable of killing while untethered to human operators is “feasible within years, not decades.” If development is not cut off, it is only a matter of time before the weapons end up in the hands of terrorists and warlords, they said.

Unlike drones, which require a person to remotely pilot the craft and make targeting decisions, the autonomous weapons would search for and engage targets on their own. Unlike nuclear weapons, they could be made with raw materials that all significant military powers could afford and obtain, making them easier to mass-produce, the authors argued.

The weapons could reduce military casualties by keeping human soldiers off battlefields, but they could also lower the threshold for going to battle, the letter said. “If any major military power pushes ahead with A.I. weapon development, a global arms race is virtually inevitable, and the endpoint of this technological trajectory is obvious: autonomous weapons will become the Kalashnikovs of tomorrow,” it said.


A scene from the science fiction fantasy “Terminator Genisys.” Experts warned that autonomous weapons could be “feasible within years, not decades.”
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Mr. Musk, the head of SpaceX, has raised warnings about artificial intelligence before, calling it probably humanity’s “biggest existential threat.” Mr. Hawking, the physicist, has written that while development of artificial intelligence could be the biggest event in human history, “Unfortunately, it might also be the last.”

The letter said artificial intelligence “has great potential to benefit humanity in many ways.” Proponents have predicted applications in fighting disease, mitigating poverty and carrying out rescues. An association with weaponry, though, could set off a backlash that curtails its advancement, the authors said.

Other notable signatories to the letter included Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple; Noam Chomsky, the linguist and political philosopher; and Demis Hassabis, the chief executive of the artificial intelligence company Google DeepMind.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/technology/elon-musk-and-stephen-hawking-among-hundreds-to-urge-ban-on-military-robots.html?_r=0&referrer=/

Topic - Banning Military Robots NOT Banning Military Puppets....
*Note to self - future thread topic *

*I laugh & laugh *

Dirty paranoid hippies... The lot of them.


The application of the robots to law enforcement alone, would be astounding.
Riots quelled, and neighbourhoods safe.

As for military applications...
If it saves even one American life, it's well worth the use of the robots.

The application of the robots to law enforcement alone, would be astounding.

We have been sending robots in buildings for at least 2 decades, with their cameras & for bomb detection.
Where would we be without them as far as security ? * rhetorical*
They have saved countless lives already.

i would disagree, there are no "3 rules for robots", they would be programed/controlled by someone, and they are only as good as there human controllers... they(humans) would be able to kill us without even breaking a sweat then...

first movie that came to mind : )






but really the list is endless
no dna to track
just change there feet if they left prints

weapons in a AI does bother me
cause we are just a germ
if they where to think
cause we are the only animal to destroy others (not to eat like other animals) and are own world

not saying all of us are bad but still a robot in the hands of a cereal killer <face palm> or even more fun a cereal killer programing them or hacking in to them
happy nightmares too you

lots of animals kill for other reasons besides food... male mooses, chimps, gorillas, lions, hippos... there are very few animals that don't kill like that...

Thank you for your cooperation!

Colonel Bleep and Squeak and Scratch will be relieved.

they kill cause they are Territorial
they do that to raise there chances of finding a mate
we are the ones to make mass destruction , guess killing one at a time was just not good enough lol
and yes i know there are some animals that make traps to catch food

There's nothing magical about robots.

Killing while untethered? Sounds familiar.

Mustard Gas, WW1.

Land mines... MANY wars.

Doesn't matter anyway. If a weapon can be developed, it will be.