Photo: Quantic Dream/Playstation
I recently got the chance to play for hours on end a Playstation 4 video game called Detroit: Become Human. The game is about robots dreaming of becoming humans, although humans treat robots like dirt.
At about the same time as was pulling my hair because of some stupid choice I made early in the game – a choice that at the end inevitably killed all the sentient robots that were peacefully demonstrating for their rights - a volunteer-run outreach organization announced a major breakthrough.
As the developments in the robotics industry gain speed, more and more voices rise to scream warnings about the impending doom that dangles above our heads.
Most of us living our little lives are worried about the possibility of robots taking over our jobs. A few, capable of worrying for more then their immediate future, think about the possibility of robots turning Terminators on our a***s and wiping us all out.
One of the most vocal groups of such people and the organization I mentioned earlier goes by the name of The Future of Life Institute (FLI). These guys have taken upon themselves to ensure that the future of humanity will not be populated with autonomous weapons that can decide on their own who lives and who dies.
To that end, they created the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Pledge, a means to ensure that private companies researching autonomous systems for various applications do not get involved with governments and turn their tech into weapons.
The Pledge, the group says, has already been signed by a host of individuals and companies doing business in artificial intelligence and other related tech: Google DeepMind, ClearPath Robotics/OTTO Motors, Anca Dragan and even Elon Musk.
“We the undersigned agree that the decision to take a human life should never be delegated to a machine,” the document they signed reads.
“Thousands of AI researchers agree that by removing the risk, attributability, and difficulty of taking human lives, lethal autonomous weapons could become powerful instruments of violence and oppression, especially when linked to surveillance and data systems.”
“We, the undersigned, call upon governments and government leaders to create a future with strong international norms, regulations and laws against lethal autonomous weapons.”
Naturally, all week long media from across the world commended the idea and the signing of a document that will save us all from death by metal with guns and their own agenda. Calls for more to join in were made.
First of all, laudable as it is, the document has no binding value. So, even if it signed it, there’s nothing really stopping DeepMind for instance from creating murdering AI if it wanted to. Or Anca Dragan. And not even Elon Musk.
Secondly, companies can build weapons without them really knowing. Governments have made a habit of scattering production of components for this or that machine in so many places no one really knows what they are building.
And thirdly, DARPA just detailed the Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) program, from which an autonomous drone will eventually emerge.
Imagine this: the military-industrial complex comes to Elon Musk asking for his help in developing an Autopilot feature for the said drone. Musk, already launching secret stuff into space for the government, says yes.
He wouldn’t give The Pledge a second thought, as he is not building a weapon that can identify, target, and kill a person on its own, without the help or interference of humans. He is only building an Autopilot for a drone.
At the same time, the military-industrial complex might ask Google to create tracking algorithms for the drone, and MIT for navigation tools and so on.
Unwillingly and unknowingly, all would have contributed to the creation of autonomous weapons.
Willy-nilly, we will probably get autonomous weapons way before we get self-driving cars. After all, the needs of war have always exceeded the needs of peace.
Once we’re there, game over. Because unlike in the video game, real life will be about robots dreaming of becoming weapons, not humans.
As the developments in the robotics industry gain speed, more and more voices rise to scream warnings about the impending doom that dangles above our heads.
Most of us living our little lives are worried about the possibility of robots taking over our jobs. A few, capable of worrying for more then their immediate future, think about the possibility of robots turning Terminators on our a***s and wiping us all out.
One of the most vocal groups of such people and the organization I mentioned earlier goes by the name of The Future of Life Institute (FLI). These guys have taken upon themselves to ensure that the future of humanity will not be populated with autonomous weapons that can decide on their own who lives and who dies.
To that end, they created the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Pledge, a means to ensure that private companies researching autonomous systems for various applications do not get involved with governments and turn their tech into weapons.
The Pledge, the group says, has already been signed by a host of individuals and companies doing business in artificial intelligence and other related tech: Google DeepMind, ClearPath Robotics/OTTO Motors, Anca Dragan and even Elon Musk.
“We the undersigned agree that the decision to take a human life should never be delegated to a machine,” the document they signed reads.
“Thousands of AI researchers agree that by removing the risk, attributability, and difficulty of taking human lives, lethal autonomous weapons could become powerful instruments of violence and oppression, especially when linked to surveillance and data systems.”
“We, the undersigned, call upon governments and government leaders to create a future with strong international norms, regulations and laws against lethal autonomous weapons.”
Naturally, all week long media from across the world commended the idea and the signing of a document that will save us all from death by metal with guns and their own agenda. Calls for more to join in were made.
First of all, laudable as it is, the document has no binding value. So, even if it signed it, there’s nothing really stopping DeepMind for instance from creating murdering AI if it wanted to. Or Anca Dragan. And not even Elon Musk.
Secondly, companies can build weapons without them really knowing. Governments have made a habit of scattering production of components for this or that machine in so many places no one really knows what they are building.
And thirdly, DARPA just detailed the Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) program, from which an autonomous drone will eventually emerge.
Imagine this: the military-industrial complex comes to Elon Musk asking for his help in developing an Autopilot feature for the said drone. Musk, already launching secret stuff into space for the government, says yes.
He wouldn’t give The Pledge a second thought, as he is not building a weapon that can identify, target, and kill a person on its own, without the help or interference of humans. He is only building an Autopilot for a drone.
At the same time, the military-industrial complex might ask Google to create tracking algorithms for the drone, and MIT for navigation tools and so on.
Unwillingly and unknowingly, all would have contributed to the creation of autonomous weapons.
Willy-nilly, we will probably get autonomous weapons way before we get self-driving cars. After all, the needs of war have always exceeded the needs of peace.
Once we’re there, game over. Because unlike in the video game, real life will be about robots dreaming of becoming weapons, not humans.
Google News