22 INNOVATION & TECH TODAY|SUMMER 2019
innovator profile
withlotsofpeople and movement happening
aroundit.Themajorityofwarisnowonfootinurban
areas,soa concernthereis,if youputkiller
robotsinthemix,a weaponsystemthatmight
beabletochangeitsmissionperimetersor
changeitstargetonthewaytoitsdestination,
there are many different things the experts telluscouldgowrong.Thislackofpredictabilityis
certainlya bigreasonforthatandit’sbeena big
questionanda bigdriverforeverybodyto
knuckledownhere and try to determine how to
dealwiththis.
I&TToday: Ifkillerrobotscouldbe
programmedwithmorals, would that make
them moreappealing?
MW:It’scurrentlynotpossibleto
programthelawsofwarintoa
machine.Thelawsofwarwere
writtenforhumans,sototryand
programthemintoa machineand
havethemmakethesebinary
decisionsbasedonsomevery
complexcontentisreally...most
peopledoubtthatit ispossible
rightnowandhaveserious
reservationsaboutwhetherornot
it wouldbepossible in the near or
distantfuture.
Meanwhile,wearegoingtosee
fullyautonomousweaponsonthe
battlefieldmuchearlierthanthat,
andtheconcernisthatyou’regoing
toseethestupidautonomous
weaponsusedbeforethesmart
onesthatcandoallthesenewfancy
thingsanddistinguishcivilianfrom
combatant.Thereareveryfew
roboticistswhowillmakethecase
thatit ispossibleto create an
ethicalrobot.
It’snotpossiblenowandwhat
peoplearerealizingisthathumans
dotheprogrammingandhumans
arealsobiasedandbiascanbe
programmedin.Thesystemsmay
beveryunreliableandunableto
makethedeterminationsthatneed
tobemadeif youaregoingtoavoid
killingciviliansinwarfare.Sothis
technicalfixissomethingthat
peoplewanttoknowabout,butI
thinktheconcernthatwe’re
crossinga moralline is also far
moreprevalent.
Wewenttoa marketresearch
company that conducted a briefpollof 23 countriesonkillerrobotstwoyears
agoandthoughtit wouldbereallyinterestingto
runthatsurveyagainwiththatexactsame
question,“Howdoyoufeelaboutthese
autonomous weapon systems being used in
war?”
Itwasverybasicquestion,butit wasnicely
translatedandeasilyunderstoodbecausethe
firsttimetheyranthepollattheendof2016,it
found 56 percentofthosepeoplewereopposed
tokillerrobots,that’sthreeineveryfivepeople.
Thesecondsurvey,whichcameoutatthe
beginningof2019,wentbacktothosesame
twenty-threecountriesandthreemoreand
foundthatthenumbershave risen to 61 percent
opposedtokillerrobots.
Thesurveyshowedpublicopinionis
hardeningagainstsuchweaponsystemsandthe
secondsurveyalsoasksa follow-upquestionto
thepeoplewhowereconcerned,askingthemto
elaborateontheirconcerns.Wasit becausesuch
weaponsmightbeunlawfulorbecauseof
technicalissues?Thetopconcernexpressed
acrosstheboardinalmosteverycountrywas
thisnotion:byallowingkillerrobotsonthe
battlefield,we’reoutsourcingkillingto
machines.Andwe’repermittingmachinesto kill
ratherthanhumans;that’sa linetoofar.
Theothertopconcernwasabout
accountabilityandtheverylikelyaccountability
gapintheeventthata fullyautonomousweapon
isdeployedanda warcrimeiscommitted.The
inabilitytoholdpeopleresponsibleif innocent
peoplewerekilled,it wouldbeverychallenging,
if notimpossible,toholdthedesignerorthe
programmeraccountable,orthemanufacturer,
oreverybodyinvolvedevendowntothe
commanderwhosendsit offontotheoperation.
HumanRightsWatchactuallyjustconducted
a reportonthiscalled“MindtheGap,”sothose
aresomeofthereasonswhyI wantedtokeep
comingbacktoyouonthisnotionof
programmingethicsintomachines,it’sa very
hotbuttonsubjectinotherareas as well, but in
thisoneit’ssteaminghot.
We’retalkingaboutpeople’sliveshere. ■
ForthefullinterviewwithMaryWareham
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Photos:ClareConboy& RalfSchlesener
TheCampaigntoStopKillerRobotsregularlyholds
demonstrationsoutsideofgovernmentfacilitiestoraise
awareness of the threat of autonomous weapons.