Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Robotics researchers have a duty to prevent autonomous weapons

#1
C C Offline
https://theconversation.com/robotics-res...ons-126483

EXCERPT: . . . the ability for a computer to identify objects in an image: in 2010, the state of the art was successful only about half of the time, and it was stuck there for years. Today, though, the best algorithms as shown in published papers are now at 86% accuracy. That advance alone allows autonomous robots to understand what they are seeing through the camera lenses.

[...] it also gives rise to an ethical dilemma. In removing humans from the process, the assumptions that underpin the decisions related to privacy and security have been fundamentally altered. For example, the use of cameras in public streets may have raised privacy concerns 15 or 20 years ago, but adding accurate facial recognition technology dramatically alters those privacy implications.

[...] When developing machines that can make their own decisions – typically called autonomous systems – the ethical questions that arise are arguably more concerning than those in object recognition. AI-enhanced autonomy is developing so rapidly that ... People with no background in computer science can learn some of the most state-of-the-art artificial intelligence tools, and robots are more than willing to let you run your newly acquired machine learning techniques on them. There are online forums filled with people eager to help anyone learn how to do this.

[...] What’s to stop someone from strapping an explosive or another weapon to a drone equipped with this technology? ... drones ... have been caught dropping explosives on U.S. troops, shutting down airports and being used in an assassination attempt on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. The autonomous systems that are being developed right now could make staging such attacks easier and more devastating.

[...] What can we do to address this risk? Regulation is one option, and one already used by banning aerial drones near airports or around national parks. Those are helpful, but they don’t prevent the creation of weaponized drones... Another option would be to follow in the footsteps of biologists. In 1975, they held a conference on the potential hazards of recombinant DNA at Asilomar in California. There, experts agreed to voluntary guidelines that would direct the course of future work. For autonomous systems, such an outcome seems unlikely at this point... A third choice would be to establish self-governance bodies at the organization level, such as the institutional review boards that currently oversee studies on human subjects at companies, universities and government labs...

Many of my colleagues and I are excited to develop the next generation of autonomous systems. [...] But I am also concerned about the risks that new technologies pose, especially if they are exploited by malicious people. ... I believe we can work toward achieving those benefits while limiting the potential for harm. (MORE - details)
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Biden calls for weapons ban while freeing international arms dealer C C 4 281 Dec 12, 2022 12:37 AM
Last Post: Syne
  SF ‘sanctuary’ policies prevent ICE from interviewing Pelosi attack suspect C C 0 106 Nov 11, 2022 02:55 AM
Last Post: C C
  UK deployed 31 nuclear weapons + 5.8 million patient backlog + Prince Andrew's noose C C 0 75 Jan 6, 2022 02:08 AM
Last Post: C C
  AI values: Will we show the same kindness to an autonomous vehicle? C C 1 148 Jun 11, 2021 12:54 PM
Last Post: Zinjanthropos
  There are moral reasons to be vaccinated – but doesn’t mean it’s your ethical duty C C 4 196 May 10, 2021 11:53 AM
Last Post: Zinjanthropos
  What if people use autonomous vehicles to do bad things? C C 2 156 Jul 7, 2020 12:06 AM
Last Post: confused2
  Will artificially intelligent weapons kill the laws of war? C C 1 452 Sep 21, 2017 04:09 AM
Last Post: RainbowUnicorn
  Assault weapons Syne 8 1,257 Nov 10, 2016 05:50 AM
Last Post: Syne



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)