Is the world destined to embrace a self-fulfilling prophecy that finds us sealing our own fate, making a deadly pact with soldier robots that will eventually turn on their own masters? According to this report at Democracy Now, we’re already much closer than you might think.
Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams is joining with Human Rights Watch to oppose the creation of killer robots — fully autonomous weapons that could select and engage targets without human intervention. In a new report, HRW warns such weapons would undermine the safety of civilians in armed conflict, violate international humanitarian law, and blur the lines of accountability for war crimes. Fully autonomous weapons do not exist yet, but high-tech militaries are moving in that direction, with the United States taking the lead. Williams, winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, joins us along with Steve Goose, director of Human Rights Watch’s Arms Division.
