A movement to stop or regulate the development of so-called 'killer robots' got international backing at a meeting of the United Nations this week.
A movement to stop the development of so-called "killer robots" got international backing at a meeting of the United Nations this week.
At a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security yesterday, representatives of various organizations met to discuss ways toban the use of "killer robots", or weaponized robots that can acquire and fire on a target without human assistance.
Monday's meeting brought concerns that activists from groups like Human Rights Watch and the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots have been voicing for months.
Mary Wareham, an advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, told Computerworld that the group hopes to at least prompt a deep discussion started about an新兴集团of autonomous, weaponized robots.
"We're just trying to get a formal discussion started," Wareham said. "At the moment it's just kind of floating around. Countries are raising [the issue] in national statements, but there's no been one place to address this issue internationally.
WAREHAM指出，人权观察并非反对机器人或甚至武装机器人。主要问题是使用一种机器人系统，使人们留出循环。
“政府永远不应放弃对机器的目标和攻击决策的人类控制，”诺贝尔·妇女倡议的诺贝尔·威廉姆斯·威廉·威廉姆斯（诺贝尔）的倡议是一项宣布杀手机器人，在一份声明中。“为了防止这种战争方法以来，各国需要开始致力于国家禁令和国际禁令。”
Wareham noted that 13 countries, including Canada, Egypt, the U.S., the U.K., India, Ireland and S. Korea were represented at the U.S. meeting on Monday.
Some countries, includingFrance,PakistanandEgypt, have issued formal statements of support.
The UN meeting came nearly two weeks after robotics companiesdemonstrated their technologybefore invited military officers at Fort Benning in Georgia.
Four robotics companies -- Northrop Grumman, HDT Robotics, iRobot Corp. and QinetiQ -- showed off robots that can fire machine guns and hit pop-up targets from a distance of 150 meters. At least some of the robots could be equipped with grenade launchers, automatic weapons and anti-tank missiles.
Army officers at the demonstration, along with executives of the robotics companies, made it clear that humans will always be in the loop when a weaponized robot is used on the battlefield. A robot can acquire a target but a human will decide if it will fire on it, they said.
"That's the kind of thing we want," Wareham said. "We have a policy about that now, but it only lasts for five to 10 years. It's policy and not law. We want to see permanence."
WAREHAM表示，人权观察今天没有发现使用完全自主武器的机器人的国家。本集团希望在发生之前可以获得国际条约。
"We haven't seen that happening but we've seen enough, from looking at the robots, of where some militaries want to head," she added. "The way technology is moving is to increasingly automate warfare."
Right now, approximately 77 countries have autonomous surveillance drones and a handful have drones that can be armed, according to Wareham.
Sharon Gaudincovers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at@sgaudin,或订阅Sharon's RSS feed. Her email address issgaudin@computerworld.com.
阅读更多关于新兴技术的更多信息in Computerworld's Emerging Technologies Topic Center.
This story, "Activists, U.N. take aim at 'killer robots'" was originally published byComputerworld .