Following the revolutions in military affairs brought about by gunpowder and nuclear weapons, we find ourselves once again at the dawn of a new era of warfare: The Age of Autonomous Systems. Using cutting-edge technologies for military purposes, especially from the field of Artificial Intelligence, will radically transform how wars will be fought in the near future. LAWS (Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems) is a critical acronym to understand warfare in the 21st century. LAWS encompass any weapon system with autonomy in its critical functions, namely one which can select (i.e., search for or detect, identify, track, and select) and attack (i.e., use force against, neutralise, damage or destroy) targets without human intervention[1]. While technically accurate, 'LAWS' is admittedly a less emphatic term than that used by a global coalition of Human Rights Watch-coordinated non-governmental organisations formed in October 2012 who are working to fully ban LAWS -- or as they call them, 'Killer Robots'.

The world must come together to take action on killer robots, according to a new report. There is increasing agreement among various countries that fully autonomous weapons should be banned to avoid the creation of such killer robots, the new report warns. It would be "unacceptable" if weapons systems are able to select and kill targets without human oversight, the researchers warn. The research by Human Rights Watch said 30 countries had now expressed a desire for an international treaty introduced which says human control must be retained over the use of force. The new report, "Stopping Killer Robots: Country Positions on Banning Fully Autonomous Weapons and Retaining Human Control", reviews the policies of 97 countries that have publicly discussed killer robots since 2013.

On International Women's Day, weapons development won't be the first thing that springs to mind for achieving global gender equality. But banning autonomous weapons systems AKA "killer robots" is needed to strengthen global peace, advance human security and ensure a feminist future. Technology could be a benevolent force in our increasingly integrated society. The potential benefits of innovative advancements in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning could secure our future. As United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: "…these new capacities can help us to lift millions of people out of poverty, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and enable developing countries to leap‑frog into a better future."

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Countries are rapidly developing "killer robots" - machines with artificial intelligence (AI) that independently kill - but are moving at a snail's pace on agreeing global rules over their use in future wars, warn technology and human rights experts. From drones and missiles to tanks and submarines, semi-autonomous weapons systems have been used for decades to eliminate targets in modern day warfare - but they all have human supervision. Nations such as the United States, Russia and Israel are now investing in developing lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) which can identify, target, and kill a person all on their own - but to date there are no international laws governing their use. "Some kind of human control is necessary ... Only humans can make context-specific judgements of distinction, proportionality and precautions in combat," said Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"Banning killer robots is both politically savvy and morally necessary," said Mary Wareham, the Arms Division advocacy director at Human Rights Watch and coordinator of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. "European states should take the lead and open ban treaty negotiations if they are serious about protecting the world from this horrific development." Countries attending the annual meeting of states parties to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) at the United Nations in Geneva will decide on November 15 whether to continue diplomatic talks on killer robots, also known as lethal autonomous weapons systems or fully autonomous weapons. Since 2014, these states have held eight meetings on lethal autonomous weapons systems under the auspices of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), a major disarmament treaty. Over the course of those meetings, states have built a shared understanding of concern, but they have struggled to reach agreement on credible recommendations for multilateral action due to the objections of a handful of military powers, most notably Russia and the United States.

An international campaign takes its battle to outlaw "killer robots" to the UN this week with a new ally – a "peace robot". Created by an inventor from the BBC programme Robot Wars, the droid, known as David Wreckham, has been recruited to deliver a message to world leaders in New York on Monday. The robot will drop a letter to UN diplomats demanding that robots not guided by human remote control which could accidentally start wars or cause mass atrocities should be outlawed by the same type of international treaty that bans chemical weapons. Unlike drones, which are controlled by military teams often thousands of miles away from where they are deployed, critics say that autonomous killer robots have the potential to do disastrous things they were not originally programmed for. Wreckham will also visit the Manhattan headquarters of hi-tech corporations, calling on them to desist from developing technologies for autonomous weapons.

Laura Nolan is a modern hero. A former Google software engineer, Nolan resigned from her job last year after being asked to dramatically enhance the artificial intelligence used in US military drones. She is now calling for a ban on all forms of autonomous weapons on the basis that they might accidentally initiate a catastrophic global war. She said this as part of her role as a member of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. Now, listen, sometimes I'm able to kid myself about the goodness of people.

A former Google software engineer is sounding the alarm on killer robots. Laura Nolan resigned from Google last year when the tech giant started working with the U.S. military on drone technology, and since then, she has joined the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, warning that autonomous robots with lethal capabilities could become a threat to humanity. Discussions concerning possibly banning autonomous weapons fell apart on August 21 during a United Nations meeting in Geneva, when Russian diplomats allegedly made a fuss over the language that was used in a document meant to begin the process of establishing a ban. "If you're a despot, how much easier is it to have a small cadre of engineers control a fleet of autonomous weapons for you than to have to keep your troops in line?" Nolan tells Inverse. "Autonomous weapons are potential weapons of mass destruction. They need to be made taboo in the same way that chemical and biological weapons are."

Killer robots may sound like the name of a science fiction film, but they could be becoming a reality - and soon. Scientists say artificial intelligence has developed so quickly that we could soon see weapons that can choose a target and kill without being controlled by a human. The United Nations has held five days of talks in Geneva, Switzerland on banning what are known as lethal autonomous weapons. But the United States, Russia, Israel and the United Kingdom are against any restrictions, saying these developments could make war safer. How likely are killer robots?

Introducing self-governing killer robots to the battlefield could have horrific consequences for mankind, a leading academic has warned. The lethal technology is being developed around the world and is slowly being used in warfare as countries try to stay ahead of other nations. A global initiative to prohibit the use of fully autonomous killing machines that do not require any human oversight to choose and execute people was blocked earlier this year. A handful of countries including Australia, Israel, the US, Russia and South Korea prevented the worldwide ban - citing the need for further talks on the'benefits and advantages of autonomous weapons'. Richard Moyes, an honorary fellow at the University of Exeter and founding member of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots (CSKR), has revealed the long-term use of killer robots, without human controllers, may result in unnecessary loss of life to both civilians and soldiers.