The campaign to stop killer robots

Students targeted in simulated drone attack in the capital

A FILM warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence staged a deadly drone strike which claimed the lives of students. Slaughterbots shows a futuristic society where miniature drones have been programmed to identify specific targets before delivering a deadly explosive blast. The seven-minute film – produced by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots – was shown at a UN conference on Certain Conventional Weapons. The conference, with delegates from 80 countries, heard stark warnings about the danger of artificial intelligence when used as a weapon.

The fictional movie shows a product launch for miniature killer drones which can react 100 times faster than a human and have an anti-sniper feature.

They are equipped with cameras, sensors and have facial recognition. Inside the device is three grams of a deadly shaped explosive.

The movie – instigated by the Future of Life Institute, an artificial intelligence watchdog backed by physicist Stephen Hawking – claims the drones “cannot be stopped”. It adds they carry out air strikes with “surgical precision” and are “trained as a team”. They can penetrate buildings, cars, trains and evade people, bullets and any counter measure.

It goes on to show a simulated attack by the killer drones launched from Braid Hills in Edinburgh. The devices fly into a packed lecture theatre and kill specific students inside who had shared a video on social media.

Artificial intelligence expert Professor Stuart Russell said: “Allowing machines to choose to kill humans will be devastating to our security and freedom. We have an opportunity to prevent this future, but the window to act is closing fast.”