Depending on the definition, autonomous weapon systems do not and might never exist, so why should we care about killer robots? It is the decline of human control as an ongoing trend in military systems and the incapacity of computing systems to „understand“ human beings and the nature of war that is worrisome.
Therefore, the envisaged military advantages come at a price as the technology raises legal, ethical, and security concerns.
The good news: Scientists and NGOs have taken up these concerns and States address the issue within the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), where a ban of the development and use of autonomous weapons is possible. The bad news: States Parties might not find a consensus for a necessary regulation.
The talk will discuss these pressing issues to support civil society in addressing the regulation of lethal autonomous weapons (LAWS).