UN Claims Terrorists Are Actively Seeking Autonomous Killer Robots

Over the years we’ve seen terrorists engage in a wide variety of attacks, but in all cases, these attacks have been low tech in nature. They typically involve nothing more than suicide vests and guns. However, the UN fears that the high-tech robots being developed in the West, could find their way into the hands of terrorists.

A recent UN report claims that terrorists (they don’t specify any group in particular) are actively seeking out this technology, and that “Whilst these [robotic killing] systems might be available to technologically advanced countries in an initial phase, it is likely that they will proliferate.” The UN fears that since terrorists would not abide by international laws “Illegal transfers might mean that LAWS (lethal autonomous weapons) would become available to non-state actors.”

These organizations would also probably ignore any future attempts to ban autonomous weapons, which the UN has called for in the past. “Due to the inherent dual-use character of many robotic technologies, many systems originally intended for civilian purposes could easily be modified to serve military functions.”

The report suggests that these killer robots would be diverse in nature, and deployed in swarms with little human oversight. “In these scenarios where swarms of LAWS act as force multipliers, it would be unclear how meaningful human control could be maintained over the use of force, especially as the available time frame for human intervention is likely to be restricted.”