The Case for Killer Robots, With Robert Marks

There’s a lot of doomsday hype around artificial intelligence in
general, and the idea of so-called “killer robots” has been
especially controversial. But when it comes to the ethics of
these technologies, one can argue that robots actually could be
more ethical than human operators. Humans can commit war crimes.
They can deliberately kill innocent people or enemies that have
surrendered. Humans get stressed and tired and bring any number
of biases to the table. But robots just follow their code.
Moreover, U.S. adversaries are deploying these technologies
quickly, and stakes are high if we don’t keep up. Rob and Jackie
discuss these technologies—and the risks of sitting out the AI
arms race—with Robert J. Marks, Distinguished Professor of
Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor University, and
Director of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial
Intelligence.


Mentioned:


Robert J. Marks, The Case for Killer Robots: Why America’s
Military Needs to Continue Development of Lethal, e-book (Walter
Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence),
https://mindmatters.ai/killer-robots/. 

Forrest E. Morgan, et al., Military Applications of
Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Concerns in an Uncertain World
(RAND Corporation, 2020),
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3139-1.html.

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), https://www.diu.mil/.