Killer robots aren't just science fiction anymore

Artificial intelligence is the future of aerospace and defence, but the chief executive of French giant Thales says there is one application of the technology that his firm will never pursue: autonomous killing machines. "It has been discussed for too long, to be honest. It's not that difficult to say no to killer robots," Patrice Caine told a group of journalists in Montreal Thursday. AI-powered lethal weapons aren't the sort of thing that most CEOs have to worry about, but Thales operates in the aerospace, transportation and defence sectors, and Caine told the Financial Post that he imagines AI will be embedded in just about every aspect of the company's business in the next five years or so. "I would say you will find some kind of AI almost everywhere," he said.