Who is afraid of the killer robots?

The futuristic scenario of “killer robots” roaming the earth has become a realistic concern. Robots have already taken over many of the dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks of war.

For the moment, humans remain “in the loop” (with sole authority to decide when to use the weapons) and “on the loop” (with authority to call in or call off the robots). The tough question facing policymakers today is what steps the international community should take to regulate the development of fully autonomous weapons, where humans are entirely out of the loop. This year, the UN will begin formal talks to discuss a possible ban on lethal autonomous weapons.

In this new policy brief, Senior Researchers Johannes Lang and Robin May Schott analyze the rationale behind autonomous weapons, how this development is changing the character of war, and the debates surrounding the prospect of lethal machine autonomy. The consequences of delegating lethal decisions to machines are unknown, but the dangers are evident.

The Danish government, Lang and Schott conclude, should support the international effort to introduce a ban or similarly strict regulations on lethal autonomous weapons.