Rights Groups Call for Ban on Futuristic Killer Robots

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/11/19-5



MQ-9 Reaper drone. Rights groups fear such weapons are precursors to greater autonomy for machines on the battlefield.


Rights Groups Call for Ban on Futuristic Killer Robots
by Thalif Deen
Published on Monday, November 19, 2012 by Inter Press Service

The predator drone – an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) – is one of the relatively new lethal weapons used by the United States for targeted killings of suspected terrorists, particularly in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia.

MQ-9 Reaper drone. Rights groups fear such weapons are precursors to greater autonomy for machines on the battlefield. (Photo: U.S. Air Force) And since it is unmanned and remotely controlled, the drone does not risk the lives of U.S. soldiers.

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On Monday, a report jointly published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) has warned of an even more deadly weapon: killer robots.

Described as fully autonomous, these weapons will have the capability to select and fire on targets without human intervention in future wars.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. Horse is already out of the barn on this

JUCAS demonstrated the capability already. UCAS-N will bring it to the USN