The question now is what happens next and how will the mandate be implemented when UN discussions on this issue resume in June. While fully autonomous weapons systems do not yet exist, experts agree that they soon will.
Where does the world stand on killer robots? The view from recent UN meetings on autonomous weapons
From March 25 to 29, the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons met at the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in Geneva, Switzerland.
10 Things You Should Know About Killer Robots
1. What are Killer Robots? Actually, pretty much what they sound like. These are autonomous weapons systems that could kill human beings without any human involvement in the critical functions of target selection and the employment of lethal force. Lethal autonomous weapons systems could take many physical forms, and could also operate in large numbers and distributed architectures. The emergence …
Human-less or human more?
Recently, Lockheed Martin, the U.S. aerospace and defence company, released a promotional video of its work on autonomous systems. The main message: “The future of autonomy isn’t human-less. It’s human more.” Published in The Ploughshares Monitor Volume 39 Issue 2 Summer 2018 by Branka Marijan Doublethink lives on This formulation brings to mind George Orwell. In his novel 1984, Newspeak, the language …
Should you worry about Killer Robots?
Last week, the Group of Governmental Experts met at the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in Geneva, Switzerland. Many countries, including Canada, provided statements on autonomous weapons, advancing discussions that started 4 years ago. Project Ploughshares was one of the several civil society organizations observing the meetings. In a surprising turn of events, China stated that it …
Ottawa Landmines Conference Highlight: Landmine Ban Proposed
Author Celina Tuttle The Ploughshares Monitor December 1996 Volume 17 Issue 4 Anti-personnel (AP) landmines may soon be things of the past. It may take a few years and a lot of negotiation but discussions for a global ban on the weapons are underway. Private citizens and organizations working to ban the production, export, stockpiling, and use of AP mines are …