Experts alarmed over AI in military as Gaza turns into “testing ground” for US-made war robots
As the U.S. Department of Defense and military contractors are focusing on implementing artificial intelligence into their technologies, the single greatest concern lies in the incorporation of AI into weapon systems, enabling them to operate autonomously and administer lethal force devoid of human intervention, a Public Citizen report warned last week.
The Pentagon’s policies fall short of barring the deployment of autonomous weapons, commonly known as "killer robots," programmed to make their own decisions. Autonomous weapons “inherently dehumanize the people targeted and make it easier to tolerate widespread killing,” which is in violation of international human rights law, the report points out.
Yet American military contractors are developing autonomous weapons, and the introduction of AI into the Pentagon’s battlefield decision-making and weapons systems poses several risks.