The Rise of AI in Warfare: The Future of Combat
Part 2 — Insights from Stuart Russell’s BBC Reith Lectures
In the second Reith Lecture in the AI series, Professor Stuart Russell from the University of California at Berkeley speaks about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in warfare. The lecture starts with an anecdote about an email he received from Human Rights Watch requesting his support for a new campaign to ban “killer robots” in 2013. Professor Russell goes on to discuss lethal autonomous weapons systems, which are weapons that “locate, select, and engage human targets without human supervision.” He provides several caveats, such as not talking about all uses of AI in military applications and not talking about drones in the sense of aircraft that are remotely piloted by humans.
The Terminology of Autonomous Weapons
Professor Russell provides an explanation of the term “lethal autonomous weapons systems,” which he says is “weapons that locate, select, and engage human targets without human supervision.” He also points out that the word “engage” is a euphemism for “kill.” He emphasizes that autonomous weapons are not science fiction and that they are already available for purchase.
