Get humans out of the AI loop, argues professor

Humans should get'out of the loop' of artificial intelligence systems, UTS roboticist Professor Mary-Anne Williams argued last week at an Australian Human Rights Commission technology conference in Sydney. AI needn't consult a flesh and blood individual even when making life or death decisions, said Williams, director of The Magic Lab at the university's Centre of Artificial Intelligence. The rise of autonomous weapons systems which operate without human control is being campaigned against around the world. "States must draw the line now against unchecked autonomy in weapon systems by ensuring that the decision to take human life is never delegated to a machine," the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots states. In Australia, 122 AI experts last year signed a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull urging him to "take a firm global stand" against weapons systems that remove "meaningful human control" when selecting targets and deploying lethal force.