Uncrewed combat aerial vehicles, or attack drones, have become a common feature of the modern battlefield. Russia has deployed them to terrorise civilians in Ukraine and disable essential infrastructure, and Ukraine has also relied heavily on drones for attack, reconnaissance and surveillance. But these aren’t the only ‘killer robots’ that armies are utilising. Josh Toussaint-Strauss explores how the weaponisation of general-purpose robots and the developments of a wider array of advanced mobile robotics and AI powered machine are changing the dynamics of modern warfare in ways that have prompted leading robotics companies and the UN to raise the alarm and call for greater restrictions
Part of the kill chain’: how can we control weaponised robots?