Britain has been accused of blocking progress towards a global treaty banning so-called “killer robots” and leaving the door ajar for the development of hi-tech weaponry capable of taking lives without human control.
Campaigners have said the UK is part of a small group of “militarised states” whose stance on autonomous weapons is now at odds with much of the rest of the world after a United Nations conference in Geneva last week failed to make a breakthrough on negotiations towards a global ban on lethal “digital dehumanisation” technology.
Academics and human rights campaigners are increasingly fearful that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) is moving so quickly that ‘killer robots’ – weapons capable of using lethal force without a human being behind any decision to open fire – could become a reality despite global opposition.
A UN expert panel report earlier this year found evidence that a fully autonomous Turkish-made drone may have been used in Libya.
Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of campaign groups and academics advocating a global ban on…
