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THE USE OF Terminator-like warriors in battle could have disastrous consequences for the human race unless efforts are taken to prevent such weapons leaping from the drawing board to the arsenal, campaigners warn.
Governments today began the first-ever talks exclusively on so-called “lethal autonomous weapons systems” — though opponents prefer the label “killer robots”.
“I urge delegates to take bold action,” said Michael Moeller, head of the UN’s Conference on Disarmament.
“All too often international law only responds to atrocities and suffering once it has happened. You have the opportunity to take pre-emptive action and ensure that the ultimate decision to end life remains firmly under human control,” he said.
That was echoed by the International Committee of the Red Cross, guardian of the Geneva Conventions on warfare.
“The central issue is the potential absence of human control over the critical functions of identifying and attacking targets, including human targets,” said Kathleen Lawand, head of the ICRC’s arms unit.
There is a sense of deep discomfort with the idea of allowing machines to make life-and-death decisions on the battlefield with little or no human involvement.
The four-day meeting in Geneva aims to chart the path towards more in-depth talks in November.
“Killer robots would threaten the most fundamental of rights and principles in international law,” Steve Goose, arms division director at Human Rights Watch, told reporters.
“The only answer is a pre-emptive ban,” he added.
Blinding lasers
UN-brokered talks have yielded such bans before: blinding laser weapons were forbidden by international law in 1998, before they were ever deployed on the battlefield.
Automated weapons are already deployed around the globe.
The best-known are drones, unmanned aircraft whose human controllers push the trigger from a far-distant base. Controversy rages, especially over the civilian collateral damage caused when the United States strikes alleged Islamist militants.
Perhaps closest to the Terminator-type killing machine portrayed in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action films is a Samsung sentry robot used in South Korea, with the ability to spot unusual activity, talk to intruders and, when authorised by a human controller, shoot them.
Other countries at the cutting edge include Britain, Israel, China, Russia and Taiwan.
Kill without a human
But it’s the next step, the power to kill without a human handler, that rattles opponents the most.
Experts predict that military research could produce such killers within 20 years.
“Lethal autonomous weapons systems are rightly described at the next revolution in military technology, on par with the introduction of gunpowder and nuclear weapons,” Pakistan’s UN ambassador Zamir Akram told the meeting.
“In the absence of any human intervention, such weapons in fact fundamentally change the nature of war,” he said, warning that they could undermine global peace and security.
The goal, diplomats said, is not to ban the technology outright.
Restricting research
“We need to keep in mind that these are dual technologies and could have numerous civilian, peaceful and legitimate uses. This must not be about restricting research in this field,” said French ambassador Jean-Hugues Simon-Michel, chairman of the talks.
Robotics research is also being deployed for fire-fighting and bomb disposal, for example.
Campaigner Noel Sharkey, emeritus professor of robotics and artificial intelligence at Britain’s University of Sheffield, underlined that autonomy is not the problem in itself.
“I have a robot vacuum cleaner at home, it’s fully autonomous and I do not want it stopped. There is just one thing that we don’t want, and that’s what we call the kill function,” he said.
Supporters of robot weapons say they offer life-saving potential in warfare, being able to get closer than troops to assess a threat properly, without letting emotion cloud their decision-making.
But that is precisely what worries their critics.
“If we don’t inject a moral and ethical discussion into this, we won’t control warfare,” said Jody Williams, who won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her campaign for a land-mine ban treaty.
Dublin should be on lock down as offaly, kildere and Laois… Oh sorry, sure that’s all politician would have to only work and stay home… How’s that Judge doing by the way?? Gone very quiet about him
@michal heba: totally agree lock
@michal heba: dead right. If other counties can be locked down why not Dublin. Oh yeah I forgot it’s the centre of the universe.
@michal heba: 133 out of a population of 1.5 million!
@Jacks R. Back: and? The government just don’t want spikes. It’s the pure number their worried about not percentage of a geographic population. That’s why the percentage county table was removed from the App. Goes to prove that stats can be used to prove a required result. As they say there’s lies damned lies and then stats.
@Jacks R. Back: Risk of infection is much higher in Dublin having a population density per sq km 10 times that of Kildare.
@paul mccoy: if you’re going to argue for a lockdown in Dublin, at least try to base it on scientific facts and figures rather than blatant redneck bias……..
@Jacks R. Back: highest per capita in the country consistently for weeks. Stop lying.
@Barry Evans: redneck? Are you an American?
@Barry Evans: Don’t call them rednecks. Spudgobblers / boggers
@Eoin Hennigan: not in the least Eoin, a Dub bred and buttered. But small minded, insular, anti big city……redneck aptly describes that kind of thinking……
@michal heba: Judge got a free pass from O’Brien. Rory agreed. Sneaky Snake wanted him put down. I’m with Sneaky Snake on this one.
Otherwise all good on the Wagon.
@Eoin Hennigan: Kildare’s 14 day incidence currently stands at 81.8 cases per 100,000 population (was closer to 200 when locked down), Dublin is just over 50 and while still high stands at 5th in the country. Try a bit of the Google before accusing someone of lying!
@paul mccoy: oh cop on 1.5 m million. Not a few thousand and some sheep .
@michal heba: But how many people live in Dublin. Lots
@Barry Evans: that comment proves my point. Dubs think their the centre of the universe and have to resort to a racist comment to make a point.
@paul mccoy: You need to look up what racism is…
@paul mccoy: dublin is the centre of the universe
@paul mccoy: If you want to keep your benefits, you wouldn’t want Dublin to shut down!
@Sean Walsh: Why? Most of it is electronic transfer these days. If you want your drivers licences renewed better hope Clare doesn’t get locked down!
@michal heba: really stupid statement numbers are per 100 thousand so Dublin is quite low yet considering population do you not understand how figures are done it’s only 6 months since virus started and the calculation of cases hasn’t changed since day 1 please give me patience
@Jacks R. Back: Population density? Just a thought. :)
@paul mccoy: being an ignorant culchie is a state of mind, not a race!
@Jacks R. Back: getting a bit carried away with your 1.5M
@michal heba: dublin is the hub and economic engine. You cannot lock down Dublin. The other counties are insignificant in terms of economy.
@paul mccoy: no, it’s not. It’s just the centre of the national economy. Where everything you need to enable the purchase of rural 5 bed bungalows on 0.5 acres for 200k occurs while the locals pay 2000 pm to rent shoeboxes. Give over with your whataboutery. It’s completely short sighted and a little hateful to boot.
@Sean Barry: it’s just under 1.5 million. You could have checked that in less time than it took you to write your embarrassing comment.
Surge in cases in Kildare=lockdown surge in cases in Dublin =Arh sure you’ll be alright just play it handy.
There’s equality for you.
@Nigel Barlow: But its the per 100k number that counts. Dublin is half that what Kildare was per 100k. Given that the population of Dublin is approx 1.3 million (or nearly 1/4 of the whole population of Ireland), the cases aren’t so bad. Should we then look to other counties that are half the rate of Kildare per 100k and shut them down too? People like you want to shut the whole country down and want to live in perpetual scaremongering.
@Alan Wright: Plus, the most amount of testing done to date will obviously turn out higher and higher positive rates. Before the highest amount of testing, have the numbers been always this high?
@Alan Wright: are you for real?? Quarter of the population have at least 50% of the cases in the last few weeks.
@Eoin Hennigan: For sure. Population density at its finest will always have Dublin with a proportional higher infection rate. Plus, do we have the: testing figures per county? I think with a higher percentage testing rate/capacity in the capital will inevitably show a higher positive percentage rate.
@Alan Wright: actually I want equality. I’m very much in the camp that believes concentrating on driving numbers down to near zero is a waste of time. What is the use of having very little covid but no economy. The deficit do far is €10b. Tax receipts were higher buoyed by corporation tax from the big multinationals. That will taper out each successive quarter and the government will be more reliant on Irish owned SMEs tax take. And guess what. Their myopic concentration on driving covid numbers down has ensured that the sme (and hospitality industry) has been ruined. So there’ll be an ever widening deficit, public pay will have to cut, pensions and welfare payments cut. The government need to make a ballsy call and allow more risk and allow the economy to operate.
@Nigel Barlow: and people laugh at the Healy-Rae ‘s
@Nigel Barlow: Couldn’t agree more.
@Alan Wright: On the way to Dublin as we speak, need to brush up on my bar counter dancing …. hands…. reaching out , touching me…..touching you……….Sweet Caroline……oh oh oh
@Ken Healy: oh oh oh
@Nigel Barlow: Dublin population 1.45 million
Kildare population 222,000
Also it doesn’t help people from all over country are sent to Dublin to self isolate
And another little fact for you the majority of cases in Dublin are in areas that border Kildare, no coincidence as a lot of migrant workers from meat factories share tiny apartments in likes of lucan and tallaght they work shifts and as one leaves for work another comes home and uses the bed. This is going on for years now there was a group who worked for well known supermarket couple of years ago who had same arrangement the place was rented by a romainian who got rent allowance frome government as she was supposed to be working only 20 hours but there was 10 living in house all paying rent to her and quiet literally they all worked different shifts so one hopped out of bed and another got in so is it any wonder Dublin has high numbers
@Ken Healy: should gone to killarney so they are much better at dancing on phone box and cars and hear Galway is grand place for shinanigans every weekend but people sign agreement not to post on fb
@Alan Wright: we don’t care about Dublin as Dublin does about rest of the country so just close down and go feck yourself said
Don’t care about millions of eoro lost
@Alan Wright: and when the per 100k number for Dublin is worse than Kildare they’ll look at whatever stats they can use to support not locking down.
@Alan Wright: and how about counties like Galway, Cork and Watetford. How are they managing so well.
@nelliekel: where are you getting your population numbers, overstated
Isn’t it time to make it compulsory to were face covering in all public buildings. This rule is in force for public transport, retail outlets, it should also be in force for all internal gatherings.
@Matt Humphries: It more or less is.
@Matt Humphries: they don’t work as well as you appear to think. Look it up.
@Declan: but Google how well they work also just for some balance. There’s a reason why surgeons wear masks in surgery and it has nothing to do with Halloween I promise.
@Declan: think you should look it up, or do you want me to explain it to you….. again!
@Declan: why should I look it up if you have all the information, just tell me oh wise one
Dubliners should stop getting tested unless they develop serious symptoms, far too many asymptomatics and sore throats coming back positive. Fair Enough if they have chest problems etc, other than that is just giving NPHET excuses to threaten lockdowns.
@David Lee: Jesus wept! Do you understand how a virus spreads?
@David Lee: jaysus are you Donald Trump ?
@David Lee: People with opinions like yours is why this thing is going to go on longer than it should
Keep pubs closed in Dublin only.
@Peter Denham: wouldn’t be supprised if that did happen at least for a couple of weeks
@Peter Denham: why. So jobs dont matter in Dublin cop on
PPE on the security guard in the image isn’t appropriate to the facility he is working in. Need to mask up or guaranteed to contract the virus
@Darren Mc Cann: Some of the face shields I’ve seen staff in shops and restaurants wearing are a joke. They might as well wear nothing.
@Colonel Buckshot: unless you are wearing an N95 or FFP2 grade mask or better you are codding yourself if you think it provides adequate protection. The other problem is that masks give people a false sense of security so they are more likely to ignore 2 metre social distancing. Then you add in the people constantly touching their masks and then touching high touch surfaces. You also have the people who use the same mask everyday for a month when they pop into the shop. Masks were mandated to reduce the spread of the virus but have had zero effect. The expert epidemiologist Carl Heneghan told the Dail Covid Committee that masks wouldn’t work in a community setting but they ploughed ahead and introduced them anyhow.
Nothing matters outside of County Jackeen, anywhere else in the country with those no.s and lockdown to be reviewed in three weeks, joke of a government.
@Leo O’ Leary: brainless but wouldn’t expect any less from a bog warrior
@Leo O’ Leary: brainless but wouldn’t expect any less from muck savage
@Leo O’ Leary: your comment Dosent really add up but wouldn’t expect any less from a muck savage
@Leo O’ Leary: your comment Dosent really add up but wouldn’t expect any less from a muck savage
@Fargo Boyle: Once is enough to comment empty headed jackeen
@Fargo Boyle: Wouldn’t expect any LESS ? So you expected more ? Why did you expect more from a person you have termed “brainless” ? That doesn’t make sense
@Leo O’ Leary: plenty of culchies in Dublin.
As an aside I note the government are now discussing getting rid of requirement to quarantine for 14 days. Now that has nothing to do with MEPs coming bsck home on essential business has it – or that EU are slightly miffed. We better remember our place – mere taxpayers bring told what to do and not do what our betters do.
@Nigel Barlow: there is nothing wrong with brining us in with the rest of the EU. Germany and Poland as well as Sweden have little or no restrictions on travel but have less rate of Covid than we do
@european liberal: Yes they do have lower rates than we do because they behave like adults during a pandemic and most can follow simple guidelines to really help curb the spread. We cannot be compared to our continental friends because here in Ireland, logic, reason and selflessness goes out the window for vast swathes of the population as they only think of themselves and fhck everyone else. Come Christmas, I expect covid 19 to be absolutely rampant and our health service crumbling under the strain. I hope its not, but I expect it will.
@Ian Breathnach: UK also has low rates than us
@european liberal: Sweden? Twice as many cases and deaths to us per head of population. Eh no thanks.
@european liberal: UK are lying even their top medical people have said this they are fudging the figures too suit.. Boris wants to look good check their testing rates.. way down on other countries, so no test nó prove
@Ian Breathnach: very pessimistic
@GrumpyAulFella: the reason there were more deaths in Sweden than Ireland is because 5.5% of the population in Sweden is over 80 while in Ireland it is just over 3%. That also why Northern Italy was hit so hard – lots of over 80s. Meanwhile in Africa the average age is under 20 so Covid deaths remain low despite a poor health system and no social distancing
It’s grand just open the pubs
The more tests they carried out, the more people they’ll find.
It also looks like the hospitals now have a good grasp of how to treat patients with Covid19 and shouldn’t that be the way to look at it? Maybe the media could tell us more about it…
Dublin is rampant! That’s only 231 we know about!!!! Many many more for sure
@Jonnie Marre: And what about the rest of the country? Same can be said about any county. Has every other county done 100% testing on its residents? Just an anti-dublin rhetoric, sad.
Well they don’t call it Durty Old Town for nothin
@Simey Joyce: that so g is about Salford, ye thick.
@Ciara Ní Mhurchú: really it’s about Salford? I always thought it was about Dublin becuase when ever I went there it was fn flithy
@Simey Joyce: did they not teach you this in hedge school?
@GrumpyAulFella: yes I got a hedgeducation within the bounds of The Pale
And yet, this afternoon, in the middle of Mercer St flats off Aungier St, there was a giant inflatable bouncy castle thronged with kids and an giant inflatable disco set up beside it. Like WTF?!
@OpenMinded: and if copper faces Jack’s opened tmw half the culchies of Ireland would be in there looking for the shift, Killarney carry on last week wasn’t Dubliners even though some tried to blame them but with accents straight from ythe farm it wasn’t Dubs
Why aren’t they publishing the breakdown per area like happened with the other counties?? At least people could avoid hotspots then
@Will: they are on covid app all info there hospital admissions etc all there county by county
Lock it down….
I think Leo had a better grip on the situation
I must say this. Dublin may have the most cases per what ever compared to Kildare. Shut the fruit up. Densely populated. Cork Is the biggest county, cases are low. Dublin is densely populated and to be quite honest had a .02 positive % roughly. ROUGHLY. I actually don’t care anymore. My parents never did. I’ll do my bit to blend in with the sheep just in case. Everyone I talk to does not know what to believe anymore. There is no truth anymore. Suicide is up mental health is a worse problem. Cop the duck on people. Kim jong will be our president next
@Declan Martin Rigney: Cork city has not the population of Dublin city, and the majority of the county population live outside the city! Nicely spread out. The current numbers and past figures prove the cases with the virus increase in Dublin faster. I don’t really care what you think as long as you have your mask on and keep your hands clean, even if you are only doing it to blend in with us “sheep”
@Declan Martin Rigney: maths is not your strong point is it, Dublin population 1.45 million Cork population 520,000.. Doesn’t matter how big an area it is its only one third of population living in a much larger area so naturally less infections Dublin is becoming a concrete jungle were everyone wants to live plane loads of so called students who can’t actually afford rent squash into small apartments, migrants working on farms and factories are the same, Dublin born and bred people been pushed out because landlords are taking advantage of government turning blind eye to the tenament living conditions but why would they care half of them are tgw landlords, so that’s why it will be higher in Dublin seen a guy looking for a girl to share a double bed with another girl and a family in a 2 bedroom apartment (actually share the bed) and was looking for €695 a month not including the bills, so how there’s not a lot more is a miracle
Any wonder as I have seen ppl on public transport and in supermarkets with no face covering or some wear a mask as a chin strap and then ya have the ppl who like to stick there Hooter out I’d say they are the ppl who have ash trays on there push bikes
Lock it down
We’re all in this together lads, except for anyone outside Dublin, you heathens can be locked up if the cases rise.
@Robbie Curran: yeah keep them out of the capital please. The concentration of cases in Dublin West on the Kildare border is no coincidence. Lillies breaking lockdown. Get the barbed wire up and keep them out.
@GrumpyAulFella: yeah….do us all a favour! Those of us outside in the boondocks would gladly help you put up the barbed wire around Dublin.
@Joe_X: the Dubs would willingly put it up to keep the country bumkins out
@Joe_X: ah sure where would you get your education and IKEA furniture then Joe.
@GrumpyAulFella: The only thing I’d miss from Dublin would be the Guinness! But then there is always Murpheys. Just not as readily available in Clare. As for education, like yourself, I’m a long time gone from the schoolbooks., and as for IKEA, I’d get to Belfast if I really needed it….probably cheaper too!
Keep your dancing on the floor lads , no more dancing on the bar counters .
1 case per 10,000 population approx in dublin
Lock those west Brita down
I’m from cork living in dublin lovely city fk masks fk the cultural retrospective comments and fk the politicians and fuk you . Wink wink JJJor.Stiring the pot every day. How ya like them apples …..
this was inevitable once the staycationers went back to Dublin . Staycation should been in your own county . Clare has been a nightmare for past few weeks with N.I cars and campers and Dublin visitors. Kilkee has also been over run with visitors from Limerick and surprise, surprise once the people return to their own counties and cities the numbers rise. It is not rocket science.
See what’s happening? City & country folk throwing shade at each other. We need proper journalists asking hard questions and refusing to accept platitudes (like on RTE). Autumn is here. People get colds.
Dublin should be put in lockdown immediately to protect the rest of the country. Don’t allow Dubliners to travel into your counties folks!
County Cork population 500,000. Six cases yesterday. Dublin less than three times the population over 150. Do the maths. Lock it down.
Stay away from Wexford.
have your say