The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday ratcheted up a joint call for countries to adopt bans and restrictions on use of autonomous weapons systems — often known as killer robots — warning that “the risks have intensified.”
Building on an initial appeal three years ago and international talks on the issue for years, the appeal stops short of calling for a blanket ban but notes that such weapons systems are being developed, though the U.N. and Red Cross haven’t confirmed use on the battlefield. But civilians need to be protected for when that day may come.
“We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: The autonomous targeting of humans by machines,” said U.N. Geneva spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci, reading a joint statement by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric.
“Today, we renew this call with even greater urgency,” the statement said. “The fundamental concerns remain unchanged, but the risks have intensified.”
The two international organizations say the development of weapons technology at “record speed” has strained the international rules system and widened the gap between technological capacities and regulatory constraints.
