The recommendation was made by US National Security Commission for AI, a panel headed by ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former deputy secretary of defense Robert Work. Work had previously said that the US has a “moral imperative” to explore AI weapons. The new report asserts that the US could use autonomous weapons in a safe and lawful manner: However, critics were quick to dispute the claims. “The most senior AI scientists on the planet have warned them about the consequences, and yet they continue,” Professor Noel Sharkey, spokesman for the Campaign To Stop Killer Robots, told the BBC. “This will lead to grave violations of international law.” [Read: How do you build a pet-friendly gadget? We asked experts and animal owners] The report was also criticized by the International Committee for Robot Arms Control. The NGO tweeted that the commission featured “all US tech companies looking for a big chunk of the US defense budget.”
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 25, 2019 Human Rights Watch and UN Secretary-General António Guterres have also called for prohibitions on fully autonomous weapons. However, only around 30 countries currently support the ban. With China and the US among the many absentees, campaigners fear that lethal autonomous weapons could soon become the norm.
