The Tesla CEO along with 115 other experts in robotics and AI have signed a letter warning of “a third revolution in warfare,” reports the BBC. The experts want the UN to add artificially intelligent and autonomous mechanized weapons to the list of weapons banned under the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which currently includes devices ranging from land mines to laser weapons. The short letter is extremely urgent in its tone, ending with:
Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare. Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend. These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways. We do not have long to act. Once this Pandora’s box is opened, it will be hard to close. We therefore implore the High Contracting Parties to find a way to protect us all from these dangers.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
