Stephen Hawking and Steve Wozniak Say ‘Killer Robots’ Poses Great Danger to Future of Humanity

World-famous British scientist Stephen Hawking, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and several other tech experts warned against 'killer robots.' The group said that development of such autonomous weapons, also known as killer robots, that can select and destroy targets by using artificial intelligence (AI) poses a great threat to human existence, Dawn reported.

The group, which included more than 1,000 tech leaders, wrote an open letter, warning that 'killer robots' will mark the 'the third revolution in warfare, after gunpowder and nuclear arms."

Such automated weapons would not need human assistance to initiate an attack, which makes them potentially very dangerous.

The letter also emphasized the dangers of an AI arms race, which eventually would make the killer robots a global threat. "The key question for humanity today is whether to start a global AI arms race or to prevent it from starting. If any major military power pushes ahead with AI weapon development, a global arms race is virtually inevitable," the letter said.

The group also said that if such weapons are developed, then it is possible that they may end up in the hands of evildoers such as warlords, dictators and terrorists. Then they can use those killer robots with unprecedented power for mass killings, even ethnic cleansing.

Although it may sound like a science fiction scenario that reminds us of the classic movie 'Terminator,' the scientists believe that the 'killer robots' are getting closer to becoming reality, rather than staying as a fantasy of creative minds. "The deployment of such systems is, practically if not legally, feasible within years, not decades," the letter said.

The group also noted that AI can easily be used to lower the number of casualties in the battlefields. In the letter, it said: "There are many ways in which AI can make battlefields safer for humans, especially civilians, without creating new tools for killing people."

Dawn reported that the co-founder of PayPal Elon Musk, who was among the 1,000 tech leaders asking public to join the campaign and sign the letter. In a tweet, he said: "If you are against a military AI arms race, please sign this open letter," Dawn reported.