US tech giants ‘putting world at risk of killer AI’, study finds

Amazon, Microsoft and Intel were among the companies identified by the report as being of ‘high concern’ because of their stance on lethal tech

The development of AI for military purposes has triggered debates within the industry, amid concerns it could be used to commit war crimes

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An image of a ‘killer robot’ on display at a press briefing of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. Photo: Facebook | Campaign to Stop Killer Robots

Published: 11:28am, 22 Aug 2019Updated: 7:29pm, 22 Aug 2019

Amazon, Microsoft and Intel are among leading tech companies putting the world at risk through killer robot development, according to a report that surveyed major players from the sector about their stance on lethal autonomous weapons.

Dutch NGO Pax ranked 50 companies by three criteria: whether they were developing technology that could be relevant to deadly AI, whether they were working on related military projects, and if they had committed to abstaining from contributing in the future.

“Why are companies like Microsoft and Amazon not denying that they’re currently developing these highly controversial weapons, which could decide to kill people without direct human involvement?” said Frank Slijper, lead author of the report published this week.

The use of artificial intelligence to allow weapon systems to autonomously select and attack targets has sparked ethical debates in recent years, with critics warning they would jeopardise international security and herald a third revolution in warfare after gunpowder and the atomic bomb.

A panel of government experts debated policy options regarding lethal autonomous weapons at a meeting of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in Geneva on Wednesday.

Pepper the humanoid robot, whose creators Softbank have been identified as engaging in ‘best practice’ in terms of AI development. Photo: Reuters