»Autonome Waffen könnten die Kalaschnikows von morgen werden«

Autonomous weapons select and engage targets without human intervention. They might include, for example, armed quadcopters that can search for and eliminate people meeting certain pre-defined criteria, but do not include cruise missiles or remotely piloted drones for which humans make all targeting decisions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has reached a point where the deployment of such systems is — practically if not legally — feasible within years, not decades, and the stakes are high: autonomous weapons have been described as the third revolution in warfare, after gunpowder and nuclear arms.

Many arguments have been made for and against autonomous weapons, for example that replacing human soldiers by machines is good by reducing casualties for the owner but bad by thereby lowering the threshold for going to battle. The key question for humanity today is whether to start a global AI arms race or to prevent it from starting. If any major military power pushes ahead with AI weapon development, a global arms race is virtually inevitable, and the endpoint of this technological trajectory is obvious: autonomous weapons will become the Kalashnikovs of tomorrow. Unlike nuclear weapons, they require no costly or hard-to-obtain raw materials, so they will become ubiquitous and cheap for all significant military powers to mass-produce. It will only be a matter of time until they appear on the black market and in the hands of terrorists, dictators wishing to better control their populace, warlords wishing to perpetrate ethnic cleansing, etc. Autonomous weapons are ideal for tasks such as assassinations, destabilizing nations, subduing populations and selectively killing a particular ethnic group. We therefore believe that a military AI arms race would not be beneficial for humanity. There are many ways in which AI can make battlefields safer for humans, especially civilians, without creating new tools for killing people.

Just as most chemists and biologists have no interest in building chemical or biological weapons, most AI researchers have no interest in building AI weapons — and do not want others to tarnish their field by doing so, potentially creating a major public backlash against AI that curtails its future societal benefits. Indeed, chemists and biologists have broadly supported international agreements that have successfully prohibited chemical and biological weapons, just as most physicists supported the treaties banning space-based nuclear weapons and blinding laser weapons.

In summary, we believe that AI has great potential to benefit humanity in many ways, and that the goal of the field should be to do so. Starting a military AI arms race is a bad idea, and should be prevented by a ban on offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control.

Open letter signatories include:

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Stephen Hawking Director of research at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge, 2012 Fundamental Physics Prize laureate for his work on quantum gravity
Elon Reeve Musk SpaceX, Tesla, Solar City
Steve Wozniak, Apple Inc., Co-founder, member of IEEE CS
Jaan Tallinn co-founder of Skype, CSER and FLI
Frank Wilczek MIT, Professor of Physics, Nobel Laureate for his work on the strong nuclear force
Max Tegmark MIT, Professor of Physics, co-founder of FLI
Daniel C. Dennett, Tufts University, Professor, Co-Director, Center for Cognitive Studies, member of AAAI
Noam Chomsky MIT, Institute Professor emeritus, inductee in IEEE Intelligent Systems Hall of Fame, Franklin medalist in Computer and Cognitive Science
Stephen Goose Director of Human Rights Watch's Arms Division
Anthony Aguirre, UCSC, Professor of Physics, co-founder of FLI
Lisa Randall, Harvard, Professor of Physics
Talulah Riley Actress
David W. Martin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Honorary Fellow
Markus Elsner, Nature Publishing Group, Senior Editor Nature Biotechnology
Torbjörn Tännsjö, Stockholm University, Professor of Philosophy
Antonio Gracias, Valor Equity Partners., CEO
Sean O hEigeartaigh, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, Executive Director
Chip Pitts, Stanford/Oxford, Lecturer in Law
Huw Price, University of Cambridge, Betrand Russell Professor of Philosophy
George Dvorsky, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, Director of the Board
Heather M. Roff, University of Denver
A. J. Antony Chettupuzha, University of Alberta, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Jamais A. Cascio, Institute for the Future, Distinguished Fellow, member of Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
Peter Arvai, Prezi, CEO and Co-founder
Geoff Ralston, Y Combinator, Partner
William Oldham, UC Berkeley, Dept EECS, Prof. Emeritus, EECS, Berkeley, member of IEEE life fellow, National Academy of Engineering
Kathryn McElroy, IBM Watson, Design Lead
Martin Vetterli, EPFL and Swiss National Science Foundation, Professor of Computer and Communication Science, member of ACM
Heather M. Roff Perkins, University of Denver, Visiting Professor
Renato Lo Cigno, Professor of Computer Science, member of ACM, IEEE CS
Fabio Massacci, University of Trento, Professor of Computer Security, member of ACM, IEEE CS, ISACA, IEEE
Heidi Schelhowe, University of Bremen, Professor of Computer Science, member of ACM
André Mayers, University of Sherbrooke, Professor of Computer Science, member of Artificial Intelligence In Education, Cognitive Science Society, American Psychological Association
Joseph Savirimuthu, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool, Senior Lecturer in Law
Pierre Poirier, Université du Québec à Montréal, Professor, Philosophy of Cognitive Science
Kat Bartlow, Earlham College, Assistant Professor of Biology
Jürgen Friedrich, University of Bremen, Proessor of Computer Scence, member of Gesellschaft für Informatik
Stefan Woltran, TU Wien, Professor
Maria Isabel Gama Nunes, University of Lisbon, Portugal, Professor of Computer Science
JJ Merelo, University of Granada, Professor
Bernard W. Kobes, Arizona State University, Professor of Philosophy, member of AAAI, American Philosophical Association
Gabriel Zachmann, University Bremen, Germany, Member of ACM, Siggraph, Eurographics, and Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI), Professor of Computer Science
Jadrian Miles, Phillips Academy Andover, Professor of Computer Science
Luis Fernando Copertari Isaacson, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Professor of Computer Engineering, member of ACM
Antonio Paulo Duarte Gomes de Abreu, Polytechnic Institute of Setubal, professor of computer science
Tanya Berger-Wolf, Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, Professor of Computer Science, member of ACM, IEEE CS
Thomas Spyrou, University of the Aegean, Greece, Assist. Prof. Systems Design
Kostas Stathis, Royal Holloway, Univ. of London, Professor of Computer Science, member of AAAI, ACM, IEEE CS
Hans-Jörg Kreowski, University of Bremen, Professor of Theoretical Computer Science, member of Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI) and Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften
Pedro Mendes, University of Manchester, Professor of Computational Systems Biology
Alexandra Blakemore, Imperial College London, Professor of Human Molecular Genetics
Alan Winfield, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, UK, Professor of Electronic Engineering, member of IEEE RAS, IET Robotics And Mechatronics Network
Jacopo Urbani, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, member of ACM
Tom Heskes, Radboud University Nijmegen, Professor of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
Donald H Burke-Agüero, University of Missouri, Professor of Microbiology & Biochemistry
Jens Allwood, University of Gothenburg, Professor of Linguistics, Cognitive science & Communication
John Finney, University College London, Emeritus Professor of Physics
Christophe Sibertin-Blanc, IRIT - Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse, Professor Computer science
Paul Andre Kamsteeg, Radboud University Nijmegen,. Netherlands, Assistant professor of AI
Jan-Georg Smaus, IRIT, Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse, Professor of Computer Science
James Barrat, Filmmaker, Author of "Our Final Invention"
Jakob Eriksson, University of Illinois at Chicago, Associate Professor of Computer Science
João Pedro Guerreiro Neto, University of Lisbon, Professor of Computer Science
Peter Desain, Donders Center for Cognition, Professor of Cognitive AI
Torbjörn Lundh, Chalmers and University of Gothenburg, Professor in Mathematics
Mattias Marklund, Chalmers University of Technology, Professor of Physics
Matilda Palm, Chalmers University of Technology, Assistant Professor
Claes Andersson, Chalmers University of Technology, Associate Professor
Christian Munthe, University of Gothenburg, Professor of Practical Philosophy
Robert Clarisó, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Associate Professor of Computer Science, member of ACM
Gabriele Ferretti, Chalmers University of Technology, Professor of Physics
Stefan Schaal, USC & MPI Intelligent Systems, Professor & Director
Johan Jonasson, Chalmers University of Technology, Professor of Mathematics
Leonardo Valente, Exponential Motor Co., Founder, Business Economics Professor at Universidad Nacional del Sur, SingularityU Alumnus
Florin Rusu, UC Merced, Assistant Professor, member of ACM, IEEE CS
Kevin Volkan, California State University Channel Islands, Professor of Psychology
Florian Schreck, University of Amsterdam, Professor for Experimental Quantum Physics
Glencora Borradaile, Oregon State University, Associate Professor of Computer Science
Jean-Pierre Béland, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Professor in robotethic, member of Robotethic
Nathaniel Calhoun, Singularity University, Global Impact Faculty
John P Sullins, Sonoma State University, Professor of Philosophy, member of ACM, IEEE RAS
Ahmed El-Serafi, Univ. of Saskatchewan, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, member of IEEE RAS
Gualtiero Piccinini, University of Missouri - St. Louis, Professor of Philosophy of Computation
Philip R. Ventura, Jr., Ph.D., Palm Beach State College, Professor of Computer Science

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