Fears the Pentagon has been'building killer robots in the basement' may have led to stricter AI rules that mandated all systems must be approved before deployment. The Department of Defense (DoD) recently updated its AI rules among'a lot of confusion about' how it plans to use self-decision-making machines on the battlefield, according to the deputy assistant defense secretary. Michael Horowitz explained at an event this month that the'directive does not prohibit the development of any systems,' but will'make clear what is and isn't allowed' and uphold a'commitment to responsible behavior,' as it develops lethal autonomous systems. While the Pentagon believes the changes should ease the public's minds, some have said they are not'convinced' by the efforts. Fears the Pentagon has been'building killer robots in the basement' may have led to stricter AI rules that mandated all systems must be approved before deployment. News of the update to the Pentagon's 2012 'Autonomy in Weapon Systems,' has sparked a debate online with many people saying'If the Pentagon says they're not doing it, they're doing it.'

A lobby group backed by Elon Musk and associated with a controversial ideology popular among tech billionaires is fighting to prevent killer robots from terminating humanity, and it's taken hold of Europe's Artificial Intelligence Act to do so. The Future of Life Institute (FLI) has over the past year made itself a force of influence on some of the AI Act's most contentious elements. Despite the group's links to Silicon Valley, Big Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have found themselves on the losing side of FLI's arguments. In the EU bubble, the arrival of a group whose actions are colored by fear of AI-triggered catastrophe rather than run-of-the-mill consumer protection concerns was received like a spaceship alighting in the Schuman roundabout. Some worry that the institute embodies a techbro-ish anxiety about low-probability threats that could divert attention from more immediate problems.