Stop the Killer Robots from Kamille Rodriguez on Vimeo.

The video explains that a ban on killer robots would not have negative impacts on the development of other robotics applications and research.

It was created for ICRAC by digital animation artist Kamille Rodriguez:
http://www.kamillerodriguez.com/

ICRAC members discuss the difficulties of compliance with International Humanitarian law using autonomous weapons as well as international security issues and the moral red line.

final video – robots from Amy Kohn on Vimeo.

Computing experts from 37 countries call for ban on killer robots

Decision to apply violent force must not be delegated to machines!

More than 270 engineers, computing and artificial intelligence experts, roboticists, and professionals from related disciplines are calling for a ban on the development and deployment of weapon systems that make the decision to apply violent force autonomously, without any human control.

Read the full October 2013 press release

Read the full list of signatories

As Computer Scientists, Engineers, Artificial Intelligence experts, Roboticists and professionals from related disciplines, we call for a ban on the development and deployment of weapon systems in which the decision to apply violent force is made autonomously.

We are concerned about the potential of robots to undermine human responsibility in decisions to use force, and to obscure accountability for the consequences. There is already a strong international consensus that not all weapons are acceptable, as illustrated by wide adherence to the prohibitions on biological and chemical weapons as well as anti-personnel land mines. We hold that fully autonomous robots that can trigger or direct weapons fire without a human effectively in the decision loop are similarly unacceptable.

Demands within the military for increasingly rapid response times and resilience against communications failures, combined with ongoing investments in automated systems, indicate a trend towards fully autonomous robotic weapons. However, in the absence of clear scientific evidence that robot weapons have, or are likely to have in the foreseeable future, the functionality required for accurate target identification, situational awareness or decisions regarding the proportional use of force, we question whether they could meet the strict legal requirements for the use of force. This is especially true under conditions in which battlefields are not clearly delimited and discrimination between civilians, insurgents and combatants is increasingly difficult.

Moreover, the proliferation of autonomous robot weapons raises the question of how devices controlled by complex algorithms will interact. Such interactions could create unstable and unpredictable behavior, behavior that could initiate or escalate conflicts, or cause unjustifiable harm to civilian populations.

Given the limitations and unknown future risks of autonomous robot weapons technology, we call for a prohibition on their development and deployment. Decisions about the application of violent force must not be delegated to machines.

More information for the German speaking visitors of our site, as provided by the SWR2 website:

Hinrichtung per Mausklick –

Sendung vom Montag, 23.7. | 17.05 Uhr | SWR2

Obamas heimlicher Drohnenkrieg

Es diskutieren:

Oberst a. D. Wolfgang Richter, wiss. Mitarbeiter der Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin

Dr. Niklas Schörnig, Politikwissenschaftler, Hessische Stiftung für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, Frankfurt

Prof. Dr. Jutta Weber, Technik-Philosophin, Universität Paderborn

Gesprächsleitung: Eggert Blum

Der kranke Terroristenchef liegt im Bett, umgeben von Familie und Leibwächtern, als ohne Vorwarnung eine Rakete einschlägt und alle Anwesenden tötet. Der Mann, der die Rakete mit Hilfe einer Drohne abgefeuert hat, sitzt sicher an einem Computer in Nevada. So geschehen im August 2009 in Pakistan. Inzwischen bekämpft Präsident Obama islamistische Terroristen und Aufständische nicht nur in Afghanistan und Pakistan, sondern auch im Jemen, in Somalia und Westafrika. Welche politischen und militärischen Folgen hat dieser Drohnenkrieg? Verstößt er gegen Menschenrechte und Völkerrecht? In Deutschland ermittelt die Bundesanwaltschaft wegen eines in Pakistan bei einem Drohnenangriff ums Leben gekommenen Deutschen.

Download the entire program (in German) as mp3-file here.