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MORE THAN THREE in 5 people across 26 countries oppose the development of autonomous weapons that could select and kill targets without human intervention, according to a new poll.
The poll was commissioned by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a growing global coalition of NGOs, including Amnesty International, that is working to fully ban autonomous weapons.
It found that 61% of people oppose the development of lethal autonomous weapons systems.
66% of those opposed to lethal autonomous weapons systems were most concerned that they would “cross a moral line because machines should not be allowed to kill”.
54% of those opposed said they were concerned that the weapon would be “unaccountable”.
The findings come from surveys conducted in November and December 2018 by Ipsos. A total of 18,795 adults were surveyed across 26 countries. Ireland was not included in the survey.
A near-identical survey in 23 countries in January 2017 found that 56% of respondents were opposed to the weapons.
Amnesty International said that Russia, Israel, South Korea and the US indicated at the annual meeting of the Convention of Conventional Weapons in November 2018 that they would not support negotiations for a new treaty.
However, the poll results show that more than half of respondents in Russia (59%) and the US (52%) oppose autonomous weapons.
Support for fully autonomous weapons is strongest in India (50%) and Israel (41%). The strongest opposition is in Turkey (78%), South Korea (74%) and Hungary (74%).
“This poll shows that states blocking a ban in killer robots are totally out of step with public opinion. Governments should be protecting people from the myriad risks that killer robots pose, not rushing into a new arms race which could have terrifying consequences,” acting deputy director of Amnesty Tech Rasha Rahim.
We still have time to halt the development and proliferation of fully autonomous weapons, but we won’t have that luxury for long. Governments should take note of this poll and urgently begin negotiating a new treaty to prohibit these horrifying weapons.
“Only this can help ensure respect for international law and address ethical and security concerns regarding delegating the power to make life-and-death decisions to machines,” Rahim said.
Amnesty International is calling for a total ban on the development, production and use of fully autonomous weapon systems, in light of the “serious, human rights, humanitarian and security risks they pose”.
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3 billion human lives ended on August 29, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day. They lived only to face a new nightmare, a war against the machines
That’s not exactly evidence that these weapons could lead to “terrifying consequences”, in fairness that’s probably a deterrent that would be desirable in all weapons. Amnesty just asked the ordinary man/woman in the street a carefully worded/loaded question and got the desired result.
If they asked would people oppose the development of new technology that wouldn’t put their soldiers at risk, could make split second decisions and may minimise the loss of life, the answer might have been different.
@Boyne Sharky: just get the fire hose ready and hose them down with water! Bobs your uncle
Just stop skynet from going online!
With the use of drones a pilot can be half the world away flying a drone that can be armed with missiles that can kill a lot of people, he’s just in a room, looking at a screen, no danger of him being shot down and killed, almost like a video game, yet all to real at the other end,, I wonder when the mission is over do they stand up and head into the next room for lunch. Something kinda robotic about that imo.
@Devilsavocado: A drone is not autonomous, it has a pilot, although there are experimental autonomous drones and able to think for themselves.
@Boyne Sharky: I get the impression that you do a bit of reading and maybe have an interest in military equipment Boyne..
Johnny 5
The Russians displayed their cutting edge robot a month or so ago, it’s so advanced it can dance, turned out it was just a man in a suit :)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GsL_vPxQUMA
@RJ: Stairs? Stopped the Daleks didn’t they?
@RJ: ED 209 more like….
@Michael Lynch: Daleks could float/levitate.
@Shougeki: Yes, the upgraded ones. But I was referring to the Jon Pertwee era models. The ones that moved about on castors.
The findings come from surveys conducted in November and December 2019 by Ipsos. Robots, time travel. Sounds like a movie in the making
But if everyone has one we should all be safe right?
I for one welcome our new machine overlords.
Strange that people have no problem with soldiers killing, just robots. The soldier is autonomous too, despite orders. The real danger is that the machines might not stop. But they will run out of ammunition right?
@D Writer: not if they go all A-Team and start building weapons out of other dead bots
maybe the clever engineers could programme the machines to fight the machines and that way those who love war can get the aggression out of their system by transferring it to machines!
Amnesty have really lost the plot!
Killer robots! The future Nancy Pelosi sees for US border enforcement!
have your say