Leaders in the fields of AI and robotics, including Elon Musk and Google DeepMind's Mustafa Suleyman, have signed a letter calling on the United Nations to ban lethal autonomous weapons, otherwise known as "killer robots." In their petition, the group states that the development of such technology would usher in a "third revolution in warfare," that could equal the invention of gunpowder and nuclear weapons. "Once developed, [autonomous weapons] will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend," write the signatories. "These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways." The letter is signed by the founders of 116 AI and robotics companies from 26 countries, and was published this weekend ahead of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI).

In a recent open letter, Tesla's Elon Musk and others called for a ban on autonomous weapons, saying "Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare. Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend. These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways. We do not have long to act. Once this Pandora's box is opened, it will be hard to close."

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Elon Musk has signed his name alongside more than 100 others to ask the UN to regulate the use of autonomous weapons systems. The group of concerned engineers, many of whom are respected in the field of AI, is asking the global body to "protect civilians" from "misuse" of AI-driven weapons. They believe that smart, self-guided kill bots would become the tool of choice for despots and tyrants. Musk is, by far, the most famous signatory on the letter, but there are plenty of other impressive names, including DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman. The group believes that smart weapons, that don't need a human to control them, are a step too far in how we wage wars with each other.

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In their letter, the founders warn the review conference of the convention on conventional weapons that this arms race threatens to usher in the "third revolution in warfare" after gunpowder and nuclear arms. This is not the first time the IJCAI, one of the world's leading AI conferences, has been used as a platform to discuss lethal autonomous weapons systems. It said that the UK was not developing lethal autonomous weapons and that all weapons employed by UK armed forces would be "under human oversight and control". The unmanned combat aerial vehicle, about the size of a BAE Hawk, the plane used by the Red Arrows, had its first test flight in 2013 and is expected to be operational some time after 2030 as part of the Royal Air Force's Future Offensive Air System, destined to replace the human-piloted Tornado GR4 warplanes.

The world's leading artificial intelligence experts are sounding the alarm on killer robots. Tesla (TSLA) boss Elon Musk is among a group of 116 founders of robotics and artificial intelligence companies who are calling on the United Nations to ban autonomous weapons. "Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare. Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend," the experts warn in an open letter released Monday. "These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways," the letter says.

Killer robots should be urgently banned before a wave of weapons of mass destruction gets out of control, industry leaders say. Robotics and artificial intelligence experts have signed of an open letter demanding the UN prohibit the use of such weapons internationally. Among the 116 signatories are Tesla founder Elon Musk and Mustafa Suleyman, head of applied AI at Google's Deep Mind. The weapons, including lethal microdrone swarms, are on the edge of development with the potential to create global instability, they warn. Killer robots should be urgently banned before a wave of weapons of mass destruction gets out of control, industry leaders say.

Back in 2015, more than 1,000 academics sent an open letter calling for a ban on "offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control." A ban has yet to materialise, so just as "Do They Know It's Christmas?" It's shorter, and there are fewer signatories – perhaps because of the time pressures involved for publication to match the UN's own schedules, or perhaps because getting the talks started in the first place was seen as victory enough for many academics. Either way, there are 116 signatories from 26 countries this time, once again including Tesla founder Elon Musk (who is outspoken on the potential dangers of AI) and Google DeepMind's Mustafa Suleyman – both veterans of the last letter. While the 2015 original letter calls for an outright ban on autonomous weapons, the new letter stops short, leaving a lot to the imagination.