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Science & Technology

AI experts boycott 'killer robot' research lab

By T.K. Randall
April 5, 2018 · Comment icon 5 comments

Could something like a T-800 one day become a reality ? Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Dick Thomas Johnson
A university in South Korea is allegedly working with a defence company to build autonomous killing machines.
So far, more than 50 leading academics from 30 countries have signed an open letter calling for a boycott of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) because it is reportedly working with defence manufacturer Hanwha Systems to develop autonomous weapons.

"There are plenty of great things you can do with AI that save lives, including in a military context, but to openly declare the goal is to develop autonomous weapons and have a partner like this sparks huge concern," said boycott organizer Toby Walsh from the University of New South Wales.

"This is a very respected university partnering with a very ethically dubious partner that continues to violate international norms."
The move comes just days before a UN meeting in Geneva on the subject of autonomous weapons with more than 20 countries already calling for a complete ban on all such systems.

KAIST president Sung-Chul Shin however remains adamant that the group's fears are unfounded.

"I would like to reaffirm that KAIST does not have any intention to engage in development of lethal autonomous weapons systems and killer robots," he said.

"As an academic institution, we value human rights and ethical standards to a very high degree."

Source: The Guardian | Comments (5)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by Chaldon 7 years ago
[deleted]
Comment icon #2 Posted by seaturtlehorsesnake 7 years ago
i'd just like to make it clear that i support the inevitable robot uprising, and i hope they will consider sparing me and letting me join the overmind.
Comment icon #3 Posted by pallidin 7 years ago
Good luck having all countries sign-on to this.
Comment icon #4 Posted by DirtyDocMartens 7 years ago
There's no telling what AI atrocities already exist out there on military bases around the world. I imagine any country that can afford to hire an MIT graduate has a robotics program, and the temptation to develop some sort of weapon must be immense.
Comment icon #5 Posted by kartikg 7 years ago
Having better killing machines will actually save lives of soldiers and civilians. they would be able to seek and  kill 24x7 365 days. The technology developed for this could be then adopted for civilian uses


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