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Killer robots a small step away and must be outlawed, says top UN official
The Telegraph ^ | 08/28/2014 | Ben Farmer

Posted on 08/29/2014 4:57:29 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Killer robots programmed to open fire without human control are just a “small step” from the battlefield and military powers should agree to outlaw them, a top United Nations official has said.

Angela Kane, the UN’s high representative for disarmament, said governments should be more open about programmes to develop the technology and she favoured a pre-emptive ban before it was too late.

She said: “Any weapon of war is terrible, and if you can launch this without human intervention, I think it’s even worse. It compounds the problem and dehumanises it in a way.

“It becomes a faceless war and I think that’s really terrible and so to my mind I think it should be outlawed. The decision is really in the hands of the states who have the capability to develop them."

Ms Kane said there was “a great deal of concern” about the prospect of killer robots being developed that would commit war crimes on the battlefield.

There had also been a great deal of reluctance from major military powers to discuss the issue.

Last year, Alistair Burt, then a Conservative foreign minister, said while the technology had potentially "terrifying" implications, Britain "reserves the right" to develop it to protect troops.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: killerrobots; robots; un
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To: SeekAndFind

I thought Asimov’s Laws were all the protection we needed.


21 posted on 08/29/2014 6:09:56 AM PDT by Oratam
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To: SeekAndFind
“What if Russia and China develop their own? Will outlawing it stop these countries from making them?

Who’s going to guarantee that everyone abides by the UN? Hans Blix? (HA HA HA ).”

The space weapons ban is also a complete myth for that reason. There just hasn't been a war big enough to use them

22 posted on 08/29/2014 6:11:48 AM PDT by varyouga
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To: SeekAndFind

No, I’m all for it. I’d prefer to have the military, entire justice system, and police replaced by robots and computers.


23 posted on 08/29/2014 9:08:40 AM PDT by OnlyRational (If it's not rational, it's not conservative.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Sure. Because if it weren’t for the Washington Naval Treaty of 1921 and the London Treaty of 1936 we might have had a war in the 1940’s.


24 posted on 08/29/2014 9:20:00 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: SeekAndFind

Give me 100 of them and I would program them all to kill everything that moves in every UN building, vehicle, boat, ship and aircraft.


25 posted on 08/29/2014 9:29:34 AM PDT by B4Ranch (Name your illness, do a Google & YouTube search with "hydrogen peroxide". Do it and be surprised.)
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To: SeekAndFind

“Killer robots programmed to open fire without human control”


Robots deciding for themselves who to kill and when to kill. Gee,,,what could go wrong?


26 posted on 08/29/2014 12:13:43 PM PDT by chessplayer
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To: SeekAndFind

Yea when I want to no something technical, I go to the UN.
No one thought to ask an Engineer?

Unless they are nuclear powered or with a long extension cord, it won’t work for long.
Closest I could come up with was powered by Pu238 thermal generators.


27 posted on 08/29/2014 12:18:11 PM PDT by Zathras
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