The Future of a Real-life Iron Man

We are paving our path to making a real-life Iron Man! Probably even better. The future feels like science fiction turns into reality. Artificially Intelligent killer robots would probably replace the military. They have such potential. No doubt, they can save many lives, but what if they go out of control? Would that be the next war?

AI robots would be most beneficial to society, when they are programmed to do tasks that risk human life such as the job of firefighters, police, military, etc. Depending on the amount of human intervention, robots can be divided into there categories:

1. Human-in-the-Loop Robots: Robots select targets and deliver force only with the command of a human in charge.
2. Human-on-the-Loop Robots: Robots select targets, deliver force under the supervision of a human operator who can override the robot’s actions.
3. Human-out-of-the-Loop Robots: Robots are capable of selecting the target and delivering it without any human input or intervention.

AI Killer Robots also referred to as autonomous weaponry, are an example of Human-out-of-the-Loop Weapons. They can either save lives or they can cause massive destruction. It is all dependent on how it is programmed. They do have a number of benefits:

1. Reduces the risk of soldiers in dangerous missions, as a lesser number of warfighters(or probably none) would be needed for an operation/encounter. Hence lesser number of casualties would be there. It is said that robots will take up one-quarter of the military by 2030.
2. These robots can identify the threat more easily and act at a greater speed and scale. Robots have smart sensors and cameras that help in threat detection. For instance, infrared cameras can be installed to help detect enemies even if they’re inconspicuous. Major Kenneth Rose of the US Army’s Training and Doctrine Command said, “Machines don’t get tired. They don’t close their eyes. They don’t hide under trees when it rains and they don’t talk to their friends … A human’s attention to detail on guard duty drops dramatically in the first 30 minutes … Machines know no fear.”
3. There will be reduced operational and maintenance costs for the military troops. Expenditure for training, housing, feeding, and supplying other equipment during military operations is spent, in usual scenarios, but in the case of AI killer robots, these facilities would not be needed. Once a complete and perfect AI Killer Robot has been invented, training and manufacturing more such robots wouldn't take too long.
4. Unlike Nuclear weapons, they do not require expensive or hard-to-obtain raw materials, so they will become ubiquitous and cheap for the military to mass-produce.
5. They could also be used for other purposes too. Such as border control, policing, and suppression of protests.

The advancement of AI and the development of Autonomous Weaponry can be lethal if not created with the right objective. Although AI has numerous benefits it can get dangerous with advancement. Along with the good, comes the bad; AI Killer robots too have disadvantages, such as:

1. It is challenging to create such an algorithm that enables robots to make clear and correct decisions. Before attacking anyone(or anything), a robot has to analyze and thoroughly understand the assumed threat before taking any violent actions. It is difficult to program judgemental skills into a robot but is completely essential. After all, the destructive nature of it is completely dependent on the efficiency of its algorithm.
2. These Autonomous Robots are at risk of getting hacked. It is imperative for these robots to be built based on an extremely secure platform such that the possibility of getting hacked or infected by viruses is the least, otherwise, they will not be reliable.
3. It’s unclear who, if anyone, could be held responsible for unlawful acts caused by these autonomous robots: the programmer, manufacturer, commander, or machine itself. This accountability gap would make it is difficult to ensure justice, especially for victims.
4. Some countries like the US, China, and Russia have already invested in research based on this field, but there are some counterarguments regarding the implementation of Killer Robots, suggesting its ban. This would probably mean that introduction of these robots into the battlefield would be continuously postponed or canceled. But in the worst-case scenario, if these robots land into the hands of terrorists before they are into the hands of the military, destruction would be way too much to handle.
5. This system is based on AI and Machine Learning which makes these robots think on their own. Although it may be programmed with the right objective, if it is mislead, later on, destruction is bound to take place.

In the end, the way AI Killer Robots behave depends on the way we design them. It is all dependent on us. So, let’s bring about a change in the world that we want to see, to make the world a better, safer, and happier place to live.