UG scientists worry about ‘killer robots’
The group, which includes artificial intelligence professor Rineke Verbrugge and governance and innovation professor Andrej Zwitter, say autonomous weapons lower the threshold to warfare. They also fear that developing is ‘creating a costly arms race that will not bring more safety, but leads to regional and global tensions.’
Government stance
The Dutch government is scheduled to re-assess its stance on autonomous weapons and their use. The Advisory Council on International Affairs and the Advisory Committee on Public International Law are currently assessing the topic. Their evaluation will form the basis for the government’s stance.
The experts say it’s important that ‘the Netherlands commits itself to the development of an international legally binding agreement to ensure that there is meaningful human control over the use of force’. The scientists feel that weapons should not be able to autonomously select and attack targets. A system like this is currently in development.
Urgent action
With the open letter, the experts add their appeal to those made earlier by international scientists and technology corporations who are arguing for stricter regulations on a national level in other countries.
The letter writers call on the Dutch government to join international efforts to pre-emptively ban the weapons, and to never develop, buy, or use them.
‘Urgent action is needed to address these concerns and to prevent the proliferation of lethal autonomous weapons’, they write. ‘Once this Pandora’s box is opened, it’s going to be very hard to close. As far as we are concerned, it is five to twelve.’