Experts call for boycott of South Korean university developing AI weapons

Artificial intelligence experts from 30 countries are boycotting a South Korean university over concerns that a new lab in partnership with a leading defence company could lead to autonomous weapons lacking human control. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is a public research university in Daejeon, South Korea. It is collaborating with defence manufacturer Hanwha Systems, which makes cluster munitions that are banned in 120 countries. Together, KAIST and Hanwha Systems plan to develop "AI-based command and decision systems, composite navigation algorithms for mega-scale unmanned undersea vehicles, AI-based smart aircraft training systems, and AI-based smart object tracking and recognition technology." As researchers and engineers working on artificial intelligence and robotics, we are greatly concerned by the opening of a "Research Center for the Convergence of National Defense and Artificial Intelligence" at KAIST in collaboration with Hanwha Systems, South Korea's leading arms company.