{"id":384940,"date":"2018-11-14T02:32:53","date_gmt":"2018-11-14T01:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/uk-developing-killer-robot-drones-though-it-says-it-isnt-study-rt-uk-news\/"},"modified":"2018-11-14T02:32:53","modified_gmt":"2018-11-14T01:32:53","slug":"uk-developing-killer-robot-drones-though-it-says-it-isnt-study-rt-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/uk-developing-killer-robot-drones-though-it-says-it-isnt-study-rt-uk-news\/","title":{"rendered":"UK developing \u2018killer robot\u2019 drones though it says it isn\u2019t \u2013 study \u2014 RT UK News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>        The British government has been secretly funding research with a view to developing autonomous \u2018killer robot\u2019 drones, despite making public statements to the contrary, an anti-drone campaign group has claimed.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Drone Wars UK claims that the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is funding research for the weapons systems which could make life-or-death decisions without any human input.<\/p>\n<p>In an unsettling new <a href=\"https:\/\/dronewarsuk.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/11\/dw-leash-web.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">report<\/a>, the group highlighted the Taranis drone, developed over a decade by BAE Systems and the UK Ministry of Defence. The Taranis can fly, plot its own routes and locate targets autonomously \u2013 and has cost a cool \u00a3200 million so far.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"media__youtube-frame\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300px\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z0omMcNmWKA\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The year-long study by Drone Wars UK also uncovered multiple similar research and development programs that they say are being funded by the British MoD, despite public denials of any plans to develop the deadly machines.<\/p>\n<p>Official MoD policy states that the UK is opposed to the development of autonomous weapons systems and that the government has <em>\u201cno intention of developing them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"arcticle__read-more read-more\">\n<p>Read more<\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"read-more__link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rt.com\/op-ed\/439788-mind-controlled-drones-warfare\/\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"read-more__cover\" src=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2018.09\/thumbnail\/5bae01bdfc7e934f208b45b5.jpg\" alt=\"US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone \u00a9 Josh Smith\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p>That claim doesn\u2019t, however, appear to stand up to scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Burt, who authored the new report, said there is now <em>\u201ctangible evidence\u201d<\/em> that the MoD, along with military contractors and universities in the UK, is <em>\u201cactively engaged in research and development of the underpinning technology with the aim of using it in military applications.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Burt cited the Taranis drone as an example of a drone with <em>\u201cadvanced autonomous capabilities\u201d<\/em> and said that the development of a<em> \u201ctruly autonomous\u201d<\/em> lethal drone in <em>\u201cthe foreseeable future\u201d<\/em> was now a <em>\u201creal possibility.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Instead of funding killer robots, the British government should be supporting international initiatives to prevent the development and use of autonomous weapons and should be \u201cinvestigating the enormous potential of artificial intelligence to identify potential conflict areas and prevent wars before they start,\u201d Burt argued.<\/p>\n<p>An MoD spokesperson denied that there are plans to develop any weapons systems which would operate without input from humans, saying its weapons will <em>\u201calways be under human control as an absolute guarantee of oversight, authority and accountability.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"media__youtube-frame\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300px\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/APkjRzXBvK0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Actions speak louder than words, however, and the UK has declined to support proposals brought forward at the United Nations which would ban the use of fully autonomous drones.<\/p>\n<p>The report also claims that a <em>\u201cpredictive cognitive control system\u201d<\/em> is undergoing trials at the Joint Forces Intelligence Centre at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire. Using massive amounts of data, the system makes predictions that would be of <em>\u201cdirect operational relevance\u201d<\/em> to the British armed forces.<\/p>\n<div class=\"arcticle__read-more read-more\">\n<p>Read more<\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"read-more__link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rt.com\/viral\/386512-hawking-ai-fears-humanity\/\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"read-more__cover\" src=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2017.04\/thumbnail\/59038d31c361884a448b4571.jpg\" alt=\"Physicist Stephen Hawking. \u00a9 Lucas Jacksonn\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p>What happens if such a machine is given incorrect data, either by mistake or design? Experts have repeatedly warned that putting life-or-death decisions in the hands of autonomous machines could have disastrous outcomes for humanity.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon last year, physicist Stephen Hawking warned that if it is not used properly, artificial intelligence <em>\u201ccould be the worst event in the history of our civilization.\u201d<\/em> Hawking specifically cited the advent of powerful autonomous weapons in his speech.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cAI could develop a will of its own \u2013 a will that is in conflict with our own \u2013 and which could destroy us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In 2015, hundreds of academics in Canada and Australia signed open letters to their respective governments calling for a preemptive ban on the development and use of the deadly machines.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Like this story? Share it with a friend!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/uk\/443900-killer-robots-drones-uk\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=RSS\">RT<\/a>. This piece was reprinted by <a href=\"http:\/\/rinf.com\">RINF Alternative News<\/a> with permission or license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The British government has been secretly funding research with a view to developing autonomous \u2018killer robot\u2019 drones, despite making public statements to the contrary, an anti-drone campaign group has claimed. Drone Wars UK claims that the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is funding research for the weapons systems which could make life-or-death decisions without any [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":379860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[519],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-384940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-newswire"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}