In March, WIRED ran a story with the headline "Russia's Killer Drone in Ukraine Raises Fears About AI in Warfare," with the subtitle, "The maker of the lethal drone claims that it can identify targets using artificial intelligence." The story focused on the KUB-BLA, a small kamikaze drone aircraft that smashes itself into enemy targets and detonates an onboard explosive. The KUB-BLA is made by ZALA Aero, a subsidiary of the Russian weapons manufacturer Kalashnikov (best known as the maker of the AK-47), which itself is partly owned by Rostec, a part of Russia's government-owned defense-industrial complex. The WIRED story understandably attracted a lot of attention, but those who only read the sensational headline missed the article's critical caveat: "It is unclear if the drone may have been operated in this [an AI-enabled autonomous] way in Ukraine." Other outlets re-reported the WIRED story, but irresponsibly did so without the caveat.

AI has a lot of fantastic use cases. In fact, it really can help us out in so many interesting ways. However, its utility is largely down to what humans decide for it – and we can be total idiots. Let's take a look at the 5 most unethical AI projects to date. Kalashnikov is a Russian weapons manufacturer, known for their (frankly) insane products.

Kalashnikov, which is most famous for its AK-47 assault rifle, is moving into new territory with a drone that can carry up to three kilograms of explosives and detonate on impact. The KUB-UAV can travel at up to 130 kilometers per hour (78 mph) and stay in the air for 30 minutes. As if there were any doubt as to Kalashnikov's intention for the device, a YouTube video shows the drone attacking some remote targets. The company wants the KUB-UAV to be inexpensive and easy to operate. Kalashnikov demonstrated the device at a defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi this week.

Russian company Kalashnikov have released a robot - and it's not quite what anyone expected. 'Igorek' ('little Igor', not its official name) was revealed to the public on Monday in Moscow by the company behind the famous AK-47 gun which has sold more than 100 million units worldwide. The 13-feet (3.96m) tall, 4.5-tonne, manned robot is designed for "carrying out engineering and combat tasks", according to Kalashnikov, at the ARMY Forum. The Forum describes itself as the "world's leading exhibition of arms and military equipment, the authoritative platform for discussing innovative ideas and developments for the armed forces". For the moment, however, Igorek is completely immobile.

The Russian military has released footage of a terrifying new piece of weaponry as it beefs up its commitment to develop the nation's armed forces. Weapons giant Kalashnikov showed off breathtaking footage featuring a robot tank levelling a building with rockets and attacking a compound alongside a group of soldiers. The video, reportedly shot on a military range in the Moscow region, shows the Soratnik (Companion) tank blasting through walls with powerful missiles. The tank, which is the size of a small car, is reportedly capable of scouting and patrolling as well as guarding duties. It is also said to be able to deal with mines and to provide covering fire for troops, but the exact level of autonomy it has remains unclear.

A United Nations meeting in Geneva earlier this month on lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) was derailed when Russia said they would not adhere to any prohibitions on killer robots, according to Defense One. The U.N. meeting appeared to be undermined both by Russia's disinterest in it and the framework of the meeting itself. Member nations attempted to come in and define what LAWS' systems would be, and what restrictions could be developed around autonomous war machines, but no progress was made. In a statement, Russia said that the lack of already developed war machines makes coming up with prohibitions on such machines difficult. "According to the Russian Federation, the lack of working samples of such weapons systems remains the main problem in the discussion on LAWS…this can hardly be considered as an argument for taking preventive prohibitive or restrictive measures against LAWS being a by far more complex and wide class of weapons of which the current understanding of humankind is rather approximate," read the statement.

More than 100 of the world's top robotics experts wrote a letter to the United Nations recently calling for a ban on the development of "killer robots" and warning of a new arms race. But are their fears really justified? Entire regiments of unmanned tanks; drones that can spot an insurgent in a crowd of civilians; and weapons controlled by computerised "brains" that learn like we do, are all among the "smart" tech being unleashed by an arms industry many believe is now entering a "third revolution in warfare". "In every sphere of the battlefield - in the air, on the sea, under the sea or on the land - the military around the world are now demonstrating prototype autonomous weapons," says Toby Walsh, professor of artificial intelligence at Sydney's New South Wales University. "New technologies like deep learning are helping drive this revolution. The tech space is clearly leading the charge, and the military is playing catch-up."

The company released images of one of the combat robots with Kalashnikov's PK series of machine guns mounted atop. Russian arms manufacturer Kalashnikov recently announced that it has developed a fully automated combat module that will use artificial intelligence to identify targets, learn and make decisions on its own. The company released images of one of the combat robots with Kalashnikov's PK series of machine guns mounted atop. So far, their deployment in military applications has been limited to areas like target recognition, infrastructure mapping, search-and-rescue missions, and aid delivery as AI and robotics researchers have been sceptical about the full-fledged use of autonomous artificial intelligence systems in warfare.

The maker of the world's most deadly firearm has unveiled plans for a radical AI controlled gun for the Russian military. Kalashnikov, best known for its AK-47 rifle, is building'a range of products based on neural networks,' including a'fully automated combat module' that can identify and shoot at its targets. The new products were revealed in an interview with Kalashnikov spokeswoman Sofiya Ivanova by TASS, a Russian government information agency. The Kalashnikov'combat module' will consist of a gun connected to a console that constantly analyses image data to identify targets. According to Kalashnikov it will be able to'make decisions' on whether to shoot.

Patrick Tucker, Defense One: Russian Weapons Maker To Build AI-Directed Guns Kalashnikov's upcoming product shows how the US and Russia are on wildly different paths to autonomy. The maker of the famous AK-47 rifle is building "a range of products based on neural networks," including a "fully automated combat module" that can identify and shoot at its targets. That's what Kalashnikov spokeswoman Sofiya Ivanova told TASS, a Russian government information agency last week. It's the latest illustration of how the U.S. and Russia differ as they develop artificial intelligence and robotics for warfare. The Kalashnikov "combat module" will consist of a gun connected to a console that constantly crunches image data "to identify targets and make decisions," Ivanova told TASS. A Kalashnikov photo that ran with the TASS piece showed a turret-mounted weapon that appeared to fire rounds of 25mm or so.