Artificial intelligence could be misused to design biological weapons, warn scientists
Daily MailJUL 2023
Report: Pentagon Boosting Arsenal of AI-Powered Autonomous Vehicles
Image copyright: Sean Gallup/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
As the military use of AI-powered autonomous drones inevitably expands, governments across the globe must promise to use them only in a limited capacity. These weapons should be prohibited from targeting areas containing humans — ideally, their scope would be narrowed to just military objects. This technology makes on-the-battlefield decisions without human input, which means the humans who build them can and must program them to steer clear of people in the first place.
Pro-establishment narrative
While it's understandable to question the legality and morality of autonomous weapon systems, US adversaries like China won't care about such debates. Western countries — with the goal of defending freedom and peace — need to responsibly develop these weapons faster and in larger quantities if they hope to deter enemy regimes. These next-generation weapons are already being used in Ukraine, so it's best if democratic allies control their global use before autocrats do.
Metaculus Prediction
There's an 11% chance that the United States will sign a Treaty on the Prohibition of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems before 2031, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
