UN expresses fear of development of KILLER ROBOTS by powerful countries

The United Nations (UN) is afraid that killer robots are being developed by powerful countries. As a result of this fear, the UN’s Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) has called for an assembly to prevent this from happening.

Fully autonomous weapons, also known as "killer robots," would be able to select and engage targets without human intervention. Precursors to these weapons, such as armed drones, are being developed and deployed by nations including China, Israel, South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is questionable that fully autonomous weapons would be capable of meeting international humanitarian law standards, including the rules of distinction, proportionality, and military necessity, while they would threaten the fundamental right to life and principle of human dignity. Human Rights Watch calls for a preemptive ban on the development, production, and use of fully autonomous weapons. Human Rights Watch is a founding member and serves as global coordinator of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. (SOURCE: Writte by HRW. Human Rights Watch is a nonprofit, nongovernmental human rights organization made up of roughly 400 staff members around the globe; https://www.hrw.org/topic/arms/killer-robots; https://www.hrw.org/about)

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. (SOURCE: http://www.un.org/en/about-un/)

Over the weekend, experts on military artificial intelligence from more than 80 world governments converged on the U.N. offices in Geneva for the start of a week’s talks on autonomous weapons systems. Many of them fear that after gunpowder and nuclear weapons, we are now on the brink of a “third revolution in warfare,” heralded by killer robots — the fully autonomous weapons that could decide who to target and kill without human input.

With autonomous technology already in development in several countries, the talks mark a crucial point for governments and activists who believe the U.N. should play a key role in regulating the technology. NEWS SOURCE: "A Global Arms Race for Killer Robots Is Transforming the Battlefield"; Posted by BILLY PERRIGO Updated: April 9, 2018 2:12 PM ET; http://time.com/5230567/killer-robots/
The United Nations (UN) held a convention in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss killer robots.

In April, over 80 countries gathered to talk about the possibility of regulating the use of killer robots or weapons that can detect and shoot targets without human aid. The gathering was a follow-up to the ongoing discussions that are part of the UN’s Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Also called the Inhumane Weapons Convention, the CCW has already set regulations on the use of lethal explosives like mines and blinding laser weapons.

These weapons have caused fear among advocacy groups like the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. Mary Wareham, the global coordinator of this organization, worries that these robots will eventually end up taking human lives. Thus, the organization is calling for strict international regulations on the use of these robots. NEWS SOURCE: "UN Holds Convention on Killer Robots"; Posted by RareJob on May 28, 2018; https://www.rarejob.com/dna/2018/05/28/un-holds-convention-on-killer-robots/