If the Terminator franchise has tried to tell us anything (besides that Arnold Schwarzenegger is great at delivering one liners), it’s that investing money into building robot killing-machines could end very badly indeed.
Currently the US military invests billions of dollars into smart military. The justification for financing such technological warfare is presented through two arguments.
The first considers that machines far more expendable than people. Losing a drone or device (whilst expensive) is nothing compared to the loss of human life.The second however, provides the notion that machines eradicate human error. The process by which a machine can select, target and take down a hostile is not only far quicker than that of a human but is also rids any chance of emotion in a systematic process that identifies individuals as either a threat or friendly target.
Currently the World’s leading military organisations are developing a range of smart technology that can be utilised in the field, the most notable of which, come in the form of smart drones. Taranis, is being developed under a 1.5 billion Anglo-French contract by BAE systems. Taranis not only contains technology that allows it to evade SAN missiles and other attacks alike but also the ability to select and identify enemy targets from the skies above. Currently the law prohibits any autonomous machines to fire without first human intervention however if such laws were changed, then Taranis amongst a handful of other drones in the World already have the in-built capabilities to take life without first consulting a human mind. Other leading developments in autonomous military technology include AI fighter pilots and the production of smart systems that will help to seek out and pinpoint the exact position of hostile targets that can be used by western forces in the field.
A handful of the World’s leading minds, including Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have called for a ban on smart weapons, claiming they’re as deadly and irresponsible as nuclear warfare.