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| U.N. Expert Calls for Halt in Military Robot Development | U.N. Expert Calls for Halt in Military Robot Development |
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| GENEVA — A United Nations expert called Thursday for a global moratorium on the development and use of armed robots that can select and kill targets without human command. | GENEVA — A United Nations expert called Thursday for a global moratorium on the development and use of armed robots that can select and kill targets without human command. |
| “War without reflection is mechanical slaughter,” said Christof Heyns, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. | “War without reflection is mechanical slaughter,” said Christof Heyns, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. |
| “A decision to allow machines to be deployed to kill human beings worldwide — whatever weapons they use — deserves a collective pause,” he told the Human Rights Council in Geneva. | “A decision to allow machines to be deployed to kill human beings worldwide — whatever weapons they use — deserves a collective pause,” he told the Human Rights Council in Geneva. |
| No countries use such weapons, but the technology is available or soon will be, Mr. Heyns told the council. | |
| The United States, Britain, Israel and South Korea have already deployed robot sentries, which are among technologies seen as precursors to fully autonomous systems. | |
| Mr. Heyns urged the council to set up a high-level panel to report within a year on advances in the development of “lethal autonomous robotics,” to assess whether existing international laws are adequate for controlling their use. | Mr. Heyns urged the council to set up a high-level panel to report within a year on advances in the development of “lethal autonomous robotics,” to assess whether existing international laws are adequate for controlling their use. |
| Preparations to introduce armed robots raise “far-reaching concerns about the protection of life during war and peace,” Mr. Heyns said. “This includes questions of whether robots will make it easier for states to go to war.” | |
| Some states active in developing such weapons have committed to not deploy them for the foreseeable future, Mr. Heyns acknowledged, but “it is clear that very strong forces — including technology and budgets — are pushing in the opposite direction,” he said. | Some states active in developing such weapons have committed to not deploy them for the foreseeable future, Mr. Heyns acknowledged, but “it is clear that very strong forces — including technology and budgets — are pushing in the opposite direction,” he said. |
| His initiative comes as nongovernmental organizations and human rights groups are campaigning to ban fully autonomous weapons to pre-empt deployment in the same way as the ban on laser weapons. Discussions are under way with a number of governments that may be willing to take the lead in drafting a treaty to outlaw the weapons, Steve Goose, arms division director of Human Rights Watch, told journalists in Geneva this week. | His initiative comes as nongovernmental organizations and human rights groups are campaigning to ban fully autonomous weapons to pre-empt deployment in the same way as the ban on laser weapons. Discussions are under way with a number of governments that may be willing to take the lead in drafting a treaty to outlaw the weapons, Steve Goose, arms division director of Human Rights Watch, told journalists in Geneva this week. |
| Supporters of the robots say they offer a number of advantages: they think faster than humans, and they are not subject to fear, panic, a desire for revenge or other emotions that can cloud human judgment. A report by Human Rights Watch and the Harvard Law School cites a United States Air Force assessment that “by 2030 machine capabilities will have increased to the point that humans have become the weakest component in a wide array of systems and processes.” | |
| Human rights groups dispute the ability of robots to meet requirements of international law, including the ability to distinguish between civilians and combatants or to assess proportionality — whether the likely harm to civilians during a military action exceeds the military advantage gained by it. Moreover, in the event a killer robot breaches international laws, it is unclear who could be held responsible or punished. | Human rights groups dispute the ability of robots to meet requirements of international law, including the ability to distinguish between civilians and combatants or to assess proportionality — whether the likely harm to civilians during a military action exceeds the military advantage gained by it. Moreover, in the event a killer robot breaches international laws, it is unclear who could be held responsible or punished. |
| “It is possible to halt the slide toward full autonomy in weaponry before moral and legal boundaries are crossed,” Mr. Goose said in a statement this week, “but only if we start to draw the line now.” |