Keith Laumer wrote a series of short stories centered around the development and consequences of artificially intelligent tanks, named Bolos; Cordwainer Smith also briefly addressed the issue in “War No. 81-Q”, in which countries settled differences of opinion by fighting wars using autonomous weapons where no one gets hurt. We’re now beginning to creep up on this science fiction concept, and some folks at the United Nations are trying to prevent it, namely the International Committee for Robot Arms Control. They held a meeting a few weeks ago, where Matthew Bolton delivered a few remarks:
A preemptive ban would honor the Marten’s Clause, following the guidance of the principle of humanity and the dictates of public conscience in developing new law. The delegation of violence to a machine – whether lethal or less lethal – is a violation of human dignity. Last month, a Model UN conference of 2,500 undergraduate students from around the world – meeting in the UN General Assembly Room in New York – were commended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for passing resolutions calling for a ban on autonomous weapons systems. ICRAC urges states to follow this ethical leadership shown by the world’s youth, as well as Nobel Laureates, clergy and faith-based organizations, concerned scientists, ethicists and the civil society Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.
I notice their Mission Statement has been updated to remove “tele-operated” weapons, since drones fit into that category and it’s poor politics to annoy the leading country that just happens to use them. Here’s their latest:
Declared July 2014, updating the Original Mission Statement in light of ICRAC’s 2009 call to commence a discussion about robot arms control having been heard.
Given the rapid pace of development of military robotics and the pressing dangers that these pose to peace and international security and to civilians in conflict, we call upon the international community for a legally binding treaty to prohibit the development, testing, production and use of autonomous weapon systems in all circumstances.
Machines should not be delegated with the decision to kill or use violent force.
Further we call upon the international community to urgently commence deliberations and discussions on:
- Limitations, regulation and transparency for remotely controlled unmanned systems.
- A ban on new kinds of unmanned nuclear weapons delivery systems.
- A prohibition on robotic space weapons.
I confess I haven’t gone through their resources section, so perhaps they’ve solved the problem of rogue states – wish I had the time to do so. Unlike nuclear weapons and their testing, there are no tell-tale signals that can be monitored from orbit or on the ground, only inadvertent leaks by workers who realize their project may be unethical. Further, the development of AI for peaceful missions necessarily will contribute to the development of autonomous weapon systems. Hardware requirements should be met, I would imagine, in large part by systems developed for the harsh environment of outer space – hardening against radiation and that sort of thing. And safeguarding computers against the mechanical problems of warfare has been going on for a very long time. Frankly, it seems like a lot of technology is coming right together.
The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots is here.
(h/t NewScientist 18 April 2015 “Rein in the bots“, p. 7)
