CrunchGear

An artificial life expert warned today that robotic soldiers (like the one pictured here) pose a threat to human life, and not just the bad guys’ lives. The robots, said the dude from the University of Sheffield, are currently safer in that they need a human being to give the final go-ahead to open fire. As the technology improves, however, this last human touch may become unnecessary. No human input = robots running amok. Something to that effect.

One hiccup—once the robots are completely independent, how do you teach them the difference between civilian and soldier? And what happens if people start demanding robot rights? Do you ignore those claims—it’s a robot, not a person!—or do you take it into consideration?

Happy Wednesday.

Automated killer robots ‘threat to humanity’: expert [AFP/Breitbart via Drudge Report]