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Only Twice Have Nations Banned a Weapon Before It Was Used; They May Do It Again

Posted by Soulskill on from the because-skynet-cares-about-international-treaties dept.

Lasrick writes: Seth Baum reports on international efforts to ban 'killer robots' before they are used. China, Israel, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States are apparently developing precursor technology. "Fully autonomous weapons are not unambiguously bad. They can reduce burdens on soldiers. Already, military robots are saving many service members' lives, for example by neutralizing improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan and Iraq. The more capabilities military robots have, the more they can keep soldiers from harm. They may also be able to complete missions that soldiers and non-autonomous weapons cannot." But Baum, who founded the Global Catastrophic Risk Institute, goes on to outline the potential downsides, and there are quite a few.

3 of 318 comments (clear)

  1. The banned weapons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    "In 1868, the Great Powers agreed under the Saint Petersburg Declaration to ban exploding bullets, which by spreading metal fragments inside a victim’s body could cause more suffering than the regular kind. And the 1995 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons now has 104 signatories, who have agreed to ban the weapons on the grounds that they could cause excessive suffering to soldiers in the form of permanent blindness."

    Enjoy :)

    1. Re:The banned weapons by chihowa · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's the Hague Convention of 1899 that prohibited expanding bullets.

      Jacketing, and FMJ, was implemented before that to allow for higher velocity bullets that don't quickly foul the barrels.

      --
      If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
  2. Re: Yes. Yes they are by jklovanc · · Score: 3, Informative

    Mining beaches is a great way to deter invasion. Up until 2013 Kinmen and Matsu Islands were heavily mined to deter invasion by China. An invasion of the main island could not take place without neutralizing those islands first. Taiwan has removed those land mines but has not destroyed their stockpile. They can still be deployed if China looks like they will invade.

    I find it sad that the people who want to ban land mines will not guarantee the sovereignty of the countries that need them to exist.