Chances Of World Peace Increase As Countries Agree To Address 'Killer Robots'

The first steps towards the outlawing of "killer robots" have been taken today by international community. Governments attending a weapons meeting in Geneva have agreed to begin international discussions in May 2014 on utonomous robot weapons.

The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (ALAMY)
"The decision to begin international discussions next year is a major leap forward for efforts to ban killer robots pre-emptively.

"Governments have recognized that fully autonomous weapons raise serious legal and ethical concerns, and that urgent action is needed," said Steve Goose, arms director at Human Rights Watch, a co-founder of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.

Governments that are part of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) agreed to convene in Geneva on May 13-16 to discuss the issues related to "lethal autonomous weapons systems," also known as fully autonomous weapons or killer robots. These weapons have not yet been developed, but technology is moving rapidly toward increasing autonomy.

The Convention on Conventional Weapons, adopted in 1980, has been ratified by 117 countries, including those known to be advanced in autonomous weaponry: the United States, China, Israel, Russia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.


Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN