All of the parts are available for purchase online, and all open-source technologies are available for download. One such drone nearly killed the president of Venezuela in 2018, and could be built today by an experienced hobbyist for less than $1,000. These “slaughterbots” are not merely the stuff of fiction. These drones fly themselves and are too small and nimble to be easily caught, stopped, or destroyed. The evolution from land mines to guided missiles was just a prelude to true AI-enabled autonomy-the full engagement of killing: searching for, deciding to engage, and obliterating another human life, completely without human involvement.Īn example of an autonomous weapon in use today is the Israeli Harpy drone, which is programmed to fly to a particular area, hunt for specific targets, and then destroy them using a high-explosive warhead nicknamed “Fire and Forget.” But a far more provocative example is illustrated in the dystopian short film Slaughterbots, which tells the story of bird-sized drones that can actively seek out a particular person and shoot a small amount of dynamite point-blank through that person’s skull. And thinking ahead to the not-so-distant future, we must ask: What if these assailants were able to remove human suicide bombers or attackers from the equation altogether? As someone who has studied and worked in artificial intelligence for the better part of four decades, I worry about such a technology threat, born from artificial intelligence and robotics.Īutonomous weaponry is the third revolution in warfare, following gunpowder and nuclear arms. On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, against the backdrop of the rushed U.S.-allied Afghanistan withdrawal, the grisly reality of armed combat and the challenge posed by asymmetric suicide terror attacks grow harder to ignore.īut weapons technology has changed substantially over the past two decades.

AI 2041 by Kai-Fu Lee