World must rein in autonomous weapons: UN, Red Cross chiefs
This photo shows a view of a shopping mall damaged following a Russian strike in Kryvyi Rih amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP photo)
The United Nations and Red Cross warned on Aug. 24 that the world is “dangerously close” to a future where autonomous weapons, so-called “killer robots,” could target humans, and issued an urgent appeal for international regulations.
The warning follows a call in 2023 from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, for countries to establish specific bans and restrictions on the rapidly developing technology by this year.
“Today, we renew this call with even greater urgency,” they said in a joint statement, adding that while their “fundamental concerns remain unchanged, the risks have intensified.”
