Canada urged to ban killer robots
OTTAWA — The Trudeau government is facing pressure on several fronts to lead an international ban on the use of autonomous weapons, the socalled “killer robots” that some fear could result from artificial intelligence run amok.
The calls come as Canada hosted a G7 meeting this week in which ministers from the world’s richest economies pushed AI as the key to kickstarting growth and jobs of the future – a discussion that largely skirted the technology’s darker implications.
The international campaign for a treaty to ban autonomous weapons, as well as some of Canada’s leading AI innovators, say the government can’t continue to discount the threats from the emerging and pervasive technology as it tries to use it an engine of economic growth.
The ministers concluded their two days of meetings in Montreal affirming their support for a common vision for AI, agreeing to hold a conference on the subject in Canada this fall to launch the G7 Future of Work Forum.
At the Montreal meeting, employment and innovation ministers looked at how governments can help companies take part in the digital economy.
Paul Hannon, the lead Canadian on the international Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, said the economic gains that G7 hopes to realize through artificial intelligence will be undermined if it continues to ignore the threats posed by the creation of weapons that can decide when to attack, and who to kill.
Hannon urged the Trudeau government to use its G7 presidency to push for a treaty that would ban the use of autonomous weapons before they are ever developed. All G7 countries and about 100 more will be participating in a major UN meeting in April that will discuss the possibility of beginning negotiations towards a treaty to ban the weapons.
“I’m hoping that these discussions in the UN will push Canada to having a national policy. And that national policy should bring in all the experts, stakeholders and relevant departments so we have a full understanding,” Hannon said Thursday.
“It’s important that the G7 recognizes that as well as all the positive things they are expecting, there are possibilities for bad things to happen.”
Some of Canada’s leading AI innovators and researchers are also calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead an international ban on lethal autonomous weapons that have no meaningful human control.
“As many of the world’s top AI and robotics corporations – including Canadian companies – have recently urged, autonomous weapon systems threaten to become the third revolution in warfare,” said the November letter to Trudeau, signed by 200 AI innovators.