ELON MUSK has once again called on the UN to outlaw the development of autonomous weapons.
In an open letter published at the launch of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Melbourne on Monday, the Tesla founder joined 115 other specialists in robotics and artificial intelligence, including DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, to warn that autonomous drones, tanks and guns will become the 鈥渢hird revolution in warfare鈥� after gunpowder and nuclear weapons.
鈥淎utonomous weapons are the 鈥榯hird revolution in warfare鈥� after gunpowder and nuclear weapons鈥�
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鈥淥nce developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend,鈥� the signatories write.
Musk is well known for his public statements about the dangers of AI. Two years ago, he and Stephen Hawking were among more than 1000 experts who signed a similar open letter. This helped push the UN to vote to begin formal discussions on autonomous weapons.
These talks were meant to start on Monday, but have been delayed until November for administrative reasons.
The delay prompted Musk to reiterate the warning in the new letter. 鈥淲e do not have long to act,鈥� the signatories warn. 鈥淥nce this Pandora鈥檚 box is opened, it will be hard to close.鈥�
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淜iller robots鈥�
