Elon Musk and the Killer Robots

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX is again warning the world about the danger of AI technology.  This time, Musk has signed an open letter to the United Nations along with dozens of other robotic and AI tech company executives who are applauding the UN's decision to establish a group of governmental experts (GGE) on so called "Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems".  The letter goes on to encourage the GGE to work hard to prevent a new arms race in these weapons systems, which the group is warning represents a third revolution in warfare.

Many countries around the world currently operate remotely piloted aircraft, or drones, with the ability to launch weapons.  The decision whether to fire on targets still rests with a human operator however, who has to make judgement calls on a myriad of factors.  The fear Musk and fellow signers are raising is that the next generation of these weapons systems will be operated by AI alone, without any human involvement. This may spark a fierce new brand of war waged by machines at an intensity and scale that humans cannot comprehend.

Many aerospace and defense companies are already developing the technologies and systems necessary to stay on top of competitors and position themselves to win vital government contracts for this third revolution.  The technology certainly holds frightening ethical issues for the use of force on civilian populations by 'unfeeling' machines, but also promises to reduce military casualties of service men and women who would traditionally pilot aircraft or vehicles on the ground while in the thick of armed conflict.

This arms race indeed seems inevitable, unless the world agrees to limit the use of the autonomous weapon technology in much the same way as was done with nuclear weapons in the last century.

Given the high profile names involved, this open letter certainly will get the attention of the United Nations, but perhaps just as importantly it has also served to further educate the public, and spark more debate on this important issue.

I would love to hear your take...is this a serious threat, or nothing but hot air?  Make your voice heard, and leave a comment!