Forget Bans: UN Stuck on Defining Killer Robots

An unmanned military robot rolls out of a U.S. Marine amphibious vehicle during the Ship-to-Shore Maneuver Exploration and Experimentation Advanced Naval Technology Exercise 2017 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Credit: Lance Cpl. Jamie Arzola A United Nations meeting on lethal autonomous weapons ended in disappointment for advocates hoping that the world would make progress on regulating or banning "killer robot" technologies. The UN group of governmental experts barely even scratched the surface of defining what counts as a lethal autonomous weapon. But instead of trying to create a catch-all killer robots definition, they might have better luck next time focusing on the role of humans in controlling such autonomous weapons. That idea of focusing on the role of humans in warfare has been supported by a number of experts and non-governmental organizations such as the International Red Cross. It would put the spotlight on the legal and moral responsibilities of soldiers and officers who might coordinate swarms of military drones or issue orders to a platoon of robotic tanks in the near future. And it avoids pitfalls surrounding the challenge of trying to define lethal autonomous weapons when artificial intelligence and robot technologies continue to evolve much faster than the slow-grinding gears of a UN body that meets just once a year.