Monday, August 21, 2017

Killer autonomous weapons are coming... but they're not here yet


 begin quote from:

Killer autonomous weapons are coming... but they're not ... - Wired UK

www.wired.co.uk/article/killer-robots-elon-musk-autonomous-weapon-systems-uk
10 hours ago - Star Wars; 2 days ago ..... The UN is being urged to ban weapons systems that can think (and kill) for ... These weapon systems can include autonomous drones, tanks and guns. ... If nations are to stop development of autonomous weapons, then ... Springs are everywhere – here's how they're made ...

Killer autonomous weapons are coming... but they're not here yet

The UN is being urged to ban weapons systems that can think (and kill) for themselves. But even with the necessary technological breakthroughs still some way off, the laws governing them need to catch up


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Pioneers from the worlds of artificial intelligence and robotics – including Elon Musk and Deepmind's Mustafa Suleyman – have asked the United Nations to ban autonomous weapon systems. A letter from the experts says the weapons currently under development risk opening a "Pandora's box" that if left open could create a dangerous "third revolution in warfare".

The open letter coincides with the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, which is currently being held in Melbourne, Australia. It's not the first time Musk and co. have issued a stark, headline-grabbing, warning about killer robots. Ahead of the same conference in 2015, the Telsa founder was joined by Steven Hawking, Steve Wozniak and Noam Chomsky in condemning a new "global arms race".

Suggestions that warfare will be transformed by artificially intelligent weapons capable of making their own decisions about who to kill are not hyperbolic. Computer science professor Stuart Russell, from the University of California, has said two US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) schemes could lead to the development of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS). These include finding ways for drones to fly with pinpoint precision and work together in hostile environments.
Separately, the Red Cross and arms control groups have called for LAWS to be outlawed, including a "prohibition on the development, production, and use of fully autonomous weapons". The first major publication on 'killer robots' came in 2012 when Humans Right Watch recommended national laws and policies should be developed before a global ban is created.
And these calls for bans on autonomous systems haven't gone unheard. The UN's Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, in December 2016, voted to begin formal discussions around LAWS. These weapon systems can include autonomous drones, tanks and guns. The UN says they could "identify and attack a target without human intervention". According to Musk and the Future of Life Institute, which published both of the open letters, the 123 member nations of the UN committee agreed for advanced discussions. In total, 19 nations have called for a complete ban on autonomous weapon systems since 2013: these include Mexico, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, and Egypt.

As discussions around LAWS systems progress, fully automated and semi-automated breakthroughs are being made. (At present, there isn't an international consensus on the definition of a fully autonomous weapons system, which further complicates things). At an international autonomous weapon systems meeting in March last year, Vadim Kozyulin, from the Russian Federation said the country had a "long history" or producing automated weapons for air defence and the navy. Kozyulin outlined the country's Cobra-1600 Light Sapper Robot, which is used to search for explosive devices, minesweeping robots, and a "multifunctional robotic system" which can change weapons depending on its mission. The majority of Russia's offensive weapons systems are currently remote-controlled and can't work autonomously, he said.

Elsewhere, the US has developed the Sea Hunter warship, which is designed to move and search for submarines autonomously. The vehicle is still undergoing testing, but US weapons expert Peter Singer told Reuters he would like to see fully unmanned flotillas in the seas within the next five years.
At its heart, the debate around banning LAWS is a legal one. If nations are to stop development of autonomous weapons, then international treaties, conventions and more will need to be signed. This is a lengthy process, with many parties involved. For the time being, there are other, more immediate problems for artificial intelligence – take bias in systems making decisions as just one example.

In the UK, the Taranis drone has been developed to fly autonomously. But instead of a full ban, a reworking of article 36 of the Geneva Convention is recommended to stop fully autonomous systems being used. The article says countries developing new weapons should consider whether they can be used under international laws. International law currently bans weapons that can cause "superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering, or have indiscriminate effects," these include chemical weapons and expanding bullets.
At the March 2016 meeting, the UK said it doesn't believe artificial intelligence will be capable of controlling a weapons system that can understand "intent," the surroundings it is operating in and be able to make a decision in a high-pressure military environment. Lt Col. John Stroud-Turp, from the Ministry of Defence, said putting a complete ban on autonomous weapon systems would stop research into semi-automated systems and that "autonomy in non-lethal areas" could be "stifled". The UK, he added, has "no intention" of developing fully-autonomous systems and that systems operating in a "highly automated mode" must have human oversight.
Autonomous weapons systems are still at their early stages of development, but pressure from Musk and co. has forced nation states into discussing their use. But before any international ban can be enforced, someone''s going to need to call in the lawyers.

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