A group of prominent robotics specialists in the United Kingdom begin to fight the creation of humanoid combat robots. According to scientists, the creation of "universal soldiers" will lead to the dehumanization of war.
The reason for the concern of scientists was secret developments that are being carried out in several countries around the world, including Russia. “This is not science fiction, projects like this are already being developed,” says Dr. Noel Sheckley of the University of Sheffield.
In his opinion, the creation of "universal soldiers" is out of the public eye and is often carried out in violation of the law. “Many people are just delighted with this technology - in the US, China, Israel and Russia. This is big, very big money. However, in reality, there is no transparency, there is no legal process,”says the scientist.
The "universal soldier" will allow generals to bypass all human rights obstacles, Sheckley said. “The law of war allows you to capitulate and talk about the rights of prisoners of war, as well as to bring to court specific people who are responsible for the damage caused. People are thinking and feeling creatures. But what happens if the robot goes crazy? Who will be responsible? Definitely not a robot,”Sheckley says.
"Stop the killer robots" - the campaign with this name starts in a month and a half in the British House of Commons. As part of the campaign, scientists and public figures will explain to the MPs all the harm from creating soulless machines to kill people.
The campaign will be attended by activists who have already explained to the British society the harm from cluster bombs and anti-personnel mines. Now they hope to convince MPs to ban the creation of robots.
“Our society is not asked for its opinion at all. We won't hear about killer robots until we know that China sold them to Iran. That is why we are launching a campaign and are going to pass a preventive ban on the creation of robots,”says Sheckley.
Now combat robots are in service with many countries around the world. Assassin droids are infamous for the United States Air Force. According to Senator Lindsay Graham, over the past few years, Washington's digital soldiers have killed about 5,000 people in Afghanistan and other countries.
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