Ex-Google worker fears 'killer robots' could cause mass atrocities | Hacker News Reader

Ex-Google worker fears 'killer robots' could cause mass atrocities

theguardian.com

31 pointshhs15 comments

A big problem here is that, in the future, you won't be able to defeat autonomous warfare with human controlled warfare. So everybody needs to develop their autonomous warfare systems anyway, even if a treaty says they won't use it.

An earlier dramatization video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlO2gcs1YvM

It comes across to me as a bit over-the-top and alarmist, but, if I consider what I know of technology and (less) history, such events and dynamics seem plausible.

Thanks for the recommendation. This is excellent summary of what is possible for people not already familiar.

Robocop, by Paul Verhoeven, 1987:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TstteJ1eIZg

"It's only a glitch."

But back to present time, the link from the parent video:

https://autonomousweapons.org/

"Ban Lethal Autonomous Weapons"

It's only a matter of time before this happens. I'm not so worried about automatic tanks and gunboats as I am drone swarms identifying and exterminating a population in detail. Surviving a round of autonomous warfare is the number one reason to get off this planet, or hole up in a desert a hundred miles from an above-ground transmission line.

The movie "Angel Has Fallen" has a drone swarm scene. (I won't say more, no spoilers, but it is totally possible with current technology)

If we can get to another planet the robots will be able to too. I'm actually optimistic that this may lead to less violence - the robots could take out the terrorists with tranquilliser darts or something. It's kinder than blanket bombing or nukes. You couldn't send in human troops with tranquillisers against enemies with heavy machine guns but with drones, you could.

As always with these fears, you can substitute with nuclear weapons, guns, bronze weapons..

though

> The machine doesn’t have the discernment or common sense that the human touch has.

Discernment or common sense has proven no barrier to atrocity...

(also Google worker = contractor)

It feels awkward seeing humanity working towards what we think is progress and in parallel always seeing someone using this knowledge as a threaten for human life to gain power.

Yes, but it has been like that for thousands of years. We should be used to it by now.

Yes, but the fear is that the curve of threat against time is exponential.

You're hardly wrong, but has this ever not been the case?

> The machine doesn’t have the discernment or common sense that the human touch has.

July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_12,_2007,_Baghdad_airst...)

Edit: add title to link

Indeed. Or look at the pictures of cities that had been bombed, or better still, fought through, during WW II.

If killer robots are “banned”, then defenses against killer robots won’t be developed, and a country or other entity that decides to use killer robots, will be capable of surprise attack that makes Pearl Harbor look like amateur hour.

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