Attack of the killer robots

The Hollywood idea of a killer robot

A UN report is calling for a moratorium on the deployment of lethal autonomous robots (LAR) that have the ability to make life and death decisions without human involvement.

LAR makes for a dangerous equation:

Lethal = causing death + autonomous = independent of others + robot = machine.

That's the kind of technology that can decide in less time than you take to blink whether or not to detonate a bomb or unload a missile into a target that may well be an insurgent stronghold but could be a group of innocent civilians (or unfortunately a mix of both).  It's these confused situations that make people with an ounce of humanity feel uneasy.  A machine is being asked to determine if the target is hostile - yes, it may well be able to assess that danger but can it also determine if there are non-combatants that will also be caught in the devastating barrage?

Is this the future of lethal autonomous robots?

I can understand these calls for caution and yes, unless they can prove that this technology will only destroy a true military target, the ultimate decision on whether to engage should lie with human beings.  Sometimes that decision will sadly involve what is euphemistically called collateral damage but at least that decision has been made by hopefully sane human beings with the moral code to decide who lives and who dies.

However, if anyone thinks that the advanced tech used so effectively by allied forces against the enemies of democracy will magically be withdrawn from active use just because of these concerns, they are naive.  Yes, retain the ultimate decision in human hands by all means (like is done with the Reaper drones) but keep the potent advantage that billions of dollars of technology can bring to democratic nations in these troubled times.

The unmanned military drone is a reality of modern warfare

Moratorium sought on killer robots (Stuff)

Call for L.A.R. moratorium (PolicyMic)

Does the world want L.A.R. (TechTheFuture)

Opinion (Rolling Stone)

L.A.R. - An ethical stance (PDF)

The very scary Taranis (Stuff)