13 November 2019
A new report from the organisation Pax looks at the development of automated weaponry.
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"Turkey’s state-owned arms manufacturer produces the Kargu, a kamikaze drone that can select targets based on facial recognition. Some reports suggest Kargu will soon be deployed on the Turkish-Syrian theater. The 'Mini Harpy' from Israel can also independently detect, attack and destroy enemy targets.
Killer robots are being developed despite assurances from some companies that they will not do so and despite the concerns of many countries that such fully autonomous weapons should not be deployed. Lethal autonomous weapons are moving from science fiction to reality, according to the PAX report Slippery Slope, released today, which surveys 50 arms producers.
“Many companies are on a slippery slope to producing ever more autonomous weapons, “ says Frank Slijper, author of the report. “While some arms companies claim they will never develop weapons that can operate without human control over lethal action, we see others developing that very technology with no clear human in the loop. We are dangerously close to crossing the line to lethal autonomous weapons.”"
The era of killer robots is upon us (Pax, link)
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