How long can NATO abstain from using killer robots? | Hacker News Reader

How long can NATO abstain from using killer robots?

armadainternational.com

13 pointsbelter9 comments

> a S-350 Vityaz anti-aircraft missile system shot down a Ukrainian aircraft whilst operating in a fully automatic mode

That's the perfect example in favor of using "killer robots". I'm fully against Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but this is a legitimate military act. The risk of downing a civilian aircraft was zero. In a combat zone, the only flying objects are either friendly or enemy. Having a autonomous anti-air system that fires when an enemy aircraft is identified is not any different from having a landmine that explodes when a tank passes over it. If anything, land mines are more problematic, because they stick around after the end of hostilities.

New Rule: Anything flying supersonic is fair game for targeting by autonomous systems in a war zone.

Imagine friendly extraterrestrials are visiting Earth for the first time in their space ship - and, before they can even land, one of our drone-fired anti-aircraft rockets smokes 'em. That's the downside risk.

Why would they come to a war zone ? Do they have a death wish ?

Anyways as a counterpoint, imagine an asteroid hurtling towards Earth. Zap! Problem solved.

If that sort of system counts as a killer robot, those are pretty standard in NATO already. It's basically the only way any sort of short range air defense can work. One popular example would be the phalanx system.

Phalanx is supposed to be integrated with Identification Friend or Foe (IFF). IFF sends an identification signal that can be recognized by the Phalanx system, enabling it to understand who is an hostile target.

Modern land mines used by the US self-destruct a few hours to a few days after setup.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_mine

Not quite NATO but South Korea have fully autonomous (human optional), lethal sentry turrets [1] along the NK border.

IMO it's going to happen anyway, better to get to grips with it early, develop better IFF for individuals and light vehicles, etc.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGR-A1

Well they already use cruise missiles, so....

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