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Analysis | Working Papers

Futureproofing Is Never Complete: Ensuring the Arms Trade Treaty Keeps Pace with New Weapons Technology
Bymbolton October 19, 2013October 24, 2013

In a new working paper, International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC) members Matthew Bolton (Pace University) and Wim Zwijnenburg (IKV Pax Christi) stress the importance of making sure states control new weapons technologies, including robotic weapons, when the Arms Trade Treatyenters into force. It outlines strategies for civil society (such as the Control Arms campaign) and concerned states to counter…

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ICRAC News | News

Computing experts from 37 countries call for ban on killer robots
Bynsharkey October 16, 2013January 15, 2018

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. In a statement…

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Analysis | News

A meme is born: autonomous = secure
ByMark Gubrud October 11, 2013July 22, 2015

One of Joshua Foust’s assertions in his debate with Heather Roff was that making weapons autonomous was necessary in order to secure them against the threat of hacking. I posted a response after Foustreiterated this surprising argument, and provided a few scraps of pseudo-evidence to support it, in an article which seems to have gone semi-viral on the internet–launching what seems…

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ICRAC in the media | News

ICRAC’s Heather Roff debates Joshua Foust
ByFrank Sauer October 10, 2013May 1, 2017

Naval Postgraduate School CRUSER Robo-Ethics Continuing Education Series (RECES) Robo-Ethics Panelist Debate (Part 3)

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Analysis | Front Page

NYT warns of killer robot gap
ByMark Gubrud September 29, 2013July 22, 2015

New York Times science writer John Markoff reported on Sept.23 that the US military “lags” in development of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), which is sort of true if you compare the status of UGVs with that of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The real reason, as Markoff acknowledges, has to do with the technical difficulty of locomotion on…

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Analysis | Front Page | News | Opinion

US killer robot policy: Full speed ahead
ByMark Gubrud September 22, 2013January 19, 2018

In November 2012, United States Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter signed directive 3000.09, establishing policy for the “design, development, acquisition, testing, fielding, and … application of lethal or non-lethal, kinetic or non-kinetic, force by autonomous or semi-autonomous weapon systems.” Without fanfare, the world had its first openly declared national policy for killer robots. The policy has…

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Analysis | YouTube video

The Politics of Killer Robots: Experts Consider Political, Legal and Ethical Implications of Drones and Other Robotic Weapons at Pace University Symposium
Bymbolton August 30, 2013May 27, 2020

Not all conduct is justified in war. Centuries of tradition – from religious texts to chivalry and honor codes to modern international humanitarian and human rights law – have limited what weapons armed groups can use, who and what they can target and where and when they may fight. Each new innovation in military technologies and techniques…

Read More The Politics of Killer Robots: Experts Consider Political, Legal and Ethical Implications of Drones and Other Robotic Weapons at Pace University Symposium
ICRAC in the media | ICRAC News | Media | News | YouTube video

Everyone is a target
ByPeter Asaro August 12, 2013February 22, 2019

A new short documentary (8 minutes) by Amy Kohn – Autonomous Weapons: everyone is a target – features members of ICRAC giving the reason why we need to move forward with an international legally binding treaty to prohibit research, use and development of autonomous weapons – weapons that once activated can select targets and kill…

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Analysis | Front Page

Foust’s case for killer robots engaged: Autonomous weapons are no phantom menace
ByMark Gubrud June 21, 2013July 22, 2015

ForeignPolicy.com blogger Joshua Foust announced on May 14 that he’d identified a “liberal” case for killer robots, including the seemingly incompatible assessments that they could “do it better”, where “it” means make the decision to kill, and that they are but a “phantom” (therefore not demanding of a serious response, such as discussion of a treaty). Foreign Policy has…

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News | Working Papers

ICRAC Working Paper Series launched
ByFrank Sauer May 31, 2013April 17, 2017

Today, ICRAC launches its new series of working papers. In ICRAC Working Paper #2 (#1 is to follow suit in the near future), Mark Gubrud and Juergen Altmann present “Compliance Measures for an Autonomous Weapons Convention”, inter alia containing a first conceptual sketch about how to implement technical verification measures to ensure human control and…

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