It's not too late to save the world from killer robots

Now, while we didn’t ban chemistry, we did ban chemical weapons. And even if chemical weapons are occasionally used, it’s hard to argue that the world would be a better place if arms companies could sell chemical weapon. Or if evil despots could launch chemical attacks on their populations without fear of censure. Or a distant date in a court in the Hague.

And that’s precisely how we are going to prevent a future full of killer robots. We agree that it is morally unacceptable to let machines make life or death decisions. We insist there is always a human in the loop. Just like we decided it was morally unacceptable to use chemical weapons.

The rest follows from there. Arms companies don’t manufacture autonomous weapons. There are a lot of more profitable activities that won’t get them put on some UN blacklist. As a result, its not easy to get your hands on autonomous weapons. And people hesitate before using them.