Arming police drones could lead to less human error and fewer deaths, but it opens up other possibilities that need careful attention.
On August 6, 1945, a crude bomb containing 60 kilograms of highly enriched uranium exploded 580 metres above Hiroshima.
EPA/Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Today’s nuclear arsenals are so powerful that dropping a Hiroshima-size bomb every two hours for 70 years would not exhaust their destructive capacity. The global disarmament regime is broken.
It’s only a small step forward before drones like this one could operate entirely autonomously.
KAZ Vorpal/Flickr
The debate over whether lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) – often called ‘killer robots’ – should be banned continues, although it’s far from settled.
Never again? A poison gas attack in World War I.
Wikimedia Commons
A century since chlorine gas was used at Ypres, beginning the era of chemical weapons, controlling lethal agents is harder than ever.
The future of warfare might involve autonomous weapon systems, such as the BAE Taranis, although some are unsettled by the idea of giving machines lethal capabilities.
Mike Young
Should future wars be fought by autonomous systems? Or do they pose such a threat that they should be banned? These issues are being debated this week by diplomats from around the world.
Don’t worry, it’s all under control.
EPA/Farooq Khan
On February 23, Trinidad and Tobago will host the first preparatory meeting of the recently adopted Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) – the first real international mechanism to stem the spread of weapons across…
The world has seen what two small atom bombs did to Japan. Today thousands of nuclear weapons threaten us all with catastrophe.
Wikimedia/509th Operations Group
Two odd facts. First, the United Nations General Assembly has declared today, September 26, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. You might yawn. Why bother? That’s never…
Lecturer on Law and Associate Director of Armed Conflict and Civilian Protection, International Human Rights Clinic, Harvard Law School, Harvard University