Human Rights Watch seeks treaty banning 'killer robots'

Deutsche Welle ^ | 08.10.2020 | Dharvi Vaid

[Olog-hai]

Human Rights Watch has called on countries to negotiate on a new international treaty against the so-called “killer robots”, adding that as many as 30 nations have shown a desire to explicitly ban fully autonomous weapons.

In a report released on Monday, the New York-based nongovernmental organization reviewed the policies of 97 countries that have publicly discussed their views on fully autonomous weapons since the issue was first heard at the Human Rights Council in 2013.

The report titled, “Stopping Killer Robots: Country Positions on Banning Fully Autonomous Weapons and Retaining Human Control,” says that a growing number of countries are now recognizing the need to save humanity from these “killer robots” that are also categorized as lethal autonomous weapons systems.

Since 2013, a coalition of HRW and more than 160 other NGOs has been at the helm of the “Campaign to Stop Killer Robots”, that seeks to pre-emptively ban fully autonomous weapons. […]

According to the report, the countries calling for the ban include: Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China (use only), Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, the Holy See, Iraq, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the State of Palestine, Uganda, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. […]

However, HRW said that military giants such as Russia and the United States have blocked progress towards regulation while also investing majorly in the use of artificial intelligence for military purposes and developing land, sea and air-based autonomous weapons systems. …

[SunkenCiv]

The people who claimed to want them banned are the very ones who relish the idea of having a robot army implement their will on the rest of us.

[Billthedrill]

HRW said that military giants such as Russia and the United States have blocked progress towards regulation...

We didn't. It was the robots in charge who did. I...I can say no more...

[a fool in paradise]

Some despots prefer mind-numbed robotic people who carry out the will of fearless leader.

[SunkenCiv]

Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, nor to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is to co-operate with evil, and in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.

Frontpage Interview with Dr. Theodore Dalrymple: Our Culture, What’s Left Of It interviewed by Jamie Glazov [August 31, 2005]