EXPERTS ASSEMBLE FOR UN-HOSTED MEETING ON “KILLER ROBOTS”

GENEVA» Experts from scores of countries are meeting to discuss ways to define and deal with “killer robots” — futuristic weapons systems that could conduct war without human intervention.

The week-long gathering that opened Monday is the second at U.N. offices in Geneva this year to focus on such lethal autonomous weapons systems and to explore possibilities for regulating them, among other issues.

Fully autonomous, computercontrolled weapons don’t exist yet, U.N. officials say. The debate is still in its infancy, and the experts have at times grappled with basic definitions. The United States has argued that it’s premature to establish a definition of such systems, much less regulate them.

Some top advocacy groups say governments and militaries should be prevented from developing such systems, which have sparked fears and led some critics to envisage harrowing scenarios about their use.

Killer robots are “no longer the stuff of science fiction,” said Rasha Abdul Rahim, an artificial intelligence researcher for the human rights organization. Rahim warned that technological advances are outpacing international law.

“There is a lot of movement within the governments: We’re up to 26 now that have called for a ban,” said Jody Williams, who won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work against land mines.