U.N. Head: “Killer Robot” Technology Threatens Humanity like Climate Change, Income Inequality

Nepal Sophia
Hanson Robotics' robot Sophia, a lifelike robot powered by artificial intelligence, is displayed in public during the “Technology for Public Services/Development” conference organized by UNDP in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Niranjan Shrestha / AP Photo
Nepal Sophia
Hanson Robotics' robot Sophia, a lifelike robot powered by artificial intelligence, is displayed in public during the “Technology for Public Services/Development” conference organized by UNDP in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Niranjan Shrestha / AP Photo

U.N. Head: “Killer Robot” Technology Threatens Humanity like Climate Change, Income Inequality

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Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) from sci-fi, or fantasy films like, “The Terminator”, and Steven Spielberg’s “A.I.”, is fantasy no longer.  Once thought to be decades away, autonomous weapons, a.k.a. “killer robots”, which can target and kill without human instruction, are just mere years away, according to a consensus of A.I. experts. In a recent U.N. General Assembly speech, Secretary General, António Guterres, compared the technology as an existential danger to the human race, equal to climate change and growing income inequality. Inventor, Elon Musk, stands opposed to developing killer robot technology, along with tech giants like Google. We’ll talk about how the future is now with Stephen Goose, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Arms Division. He and Human Rights Watch co-founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.