The problem is that it’s like nuclear weapons, but less so, the arms race inevitably will be driven on even despite the best intentions of good actors so long as a single group rejects conventions for their own gain, which is not tolerable to those who want to keep their necks (or strategic interests anyway).
Disarmament has quite a bad historical record in terms of maintaining preventing bloodshed, it just determines who has the power to retaliate and who has bargaining power in geopolitics.
Throwing away all the nukes sounds great until an expansionist power rebuilds them and has the most powerful weaponry on the planet without equal. An army of tireless, autonomous yet obedient weapons platforms is an advantage no competent state would tolerate a hostile entity having without them or their allies having to counter, even within pre-firefight manoeuvring.
Killer robots are inevitable, it will be ALL about who has them and how they are used.
Additionally, as always, money, corporations exist to make money, that why people make corporations. “Search and rescue” is not nearly as lucrative as a defence contract, public promises are non-binding and therefore meaningless.
AussieWinterWolf t1_iro7d7o wrote
Reply to Top robot companies pledge not to add weapons to their tech to avoid harm risk | Leading robotics firms promise not to add weapons to general use technology and said they would oppose others doing so by SetMau92
The problem is that it’s like nuclear weapons, but less so, the arms race inevitably will be driven on even despite the best intentions of good actors so long as a single group rejects conventions for their own gain, which is not tolerable to those who want to keep their necks (or strategic interests anyway).
Disarmament has quite a bad historical record in terms of maintaining preventing bloodshed, it just determines who has the power to retaliate and who has bargaining power in geopolitics.
Throwing away all the nukes sounds great until an expansionist power rebuilds them and has the most powerful weaponry on the planet without equal. An army of tireless, autonomous yet obedient weapons platforms is an advantage no competent state would tolerate a hostile entity having without them or their allies having to counter, even within pre-firefight manoeuvring.
Killer robots are inevitable, it will be ALL about who has them and how they are used.
Additionally, as always, money, corporations exist to make money, that why people make corporations. “Search and rescue” is not nearly as lucrative as a defence contract, public promises are non-binding and therefore meaningless.