UN Secretary-General Urges Ban on "Killer Robots" Under International Law

"Lethal Autonomous Weapons Require Regulation"
"AI Must Not Dictate Humanity's Future"

AP Yonhap News

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has referred to the rapidly proliferating military artificial intelligence (AI) as "killer robots," arguing that they should be banned under international law. He also sounded the alarm about various social side effects resulting from the indiscriminate use of AI.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), on July 6 local time at the "AI Governance Dialogue" event held in Geneva, Switzerland, Secretary-General Guterres stated in his speech, "It is ethically unacceptable for lethal autonomous AI weapons to select targets and carry out attacks, taking human lives without human control or judgment," emphasizing, "Such killer robots must be banned under international law."

Secretary-General Guterres also warned of the risks of AI that have penetrated every corner of society, not just autonomous weapons. He pointed out, "AI now writes its own code, operates online, and is increasingly making critical decisions on its own with less and less human oversight," adding, "Our laws and institutions were designed to manage machines that follow human instructions, not those capable of independent judgment. We are not yet prepared for that." He stressed, "We must not leave our future to be decided by such entities."

Furthermore, he argued that regulation is needed regarding the various incidents and harms affecting children and adolescents around the world as a result of excessive AI use. Secretary-General Guterres stated, "There must also be standards to guarantee the safety of children when it comes to AI. We always conduct safety checks for medicines and all toys," adding, "Companies must make safety pledges so that children can safely access AI."

According to the WSJ, Secretary-General Guterres's remarks are likely to reignite the debate over the safety of military AI that recently erupted in the United States. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Defense reportedly used Anthropic's AI model Claude during an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, sparking controversy. While Anthropic has opposed the use of its AI model for large-scale surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons, the U.S. Department of Defense insisted that it could use the technology for all legitimate activities, leading the controversy to spread internationally.

The WSJ noted, "Debate remains intense over how AI systems should be regulated," adding, "The U.S. government is preparing procedures to verify the safety of AI models before their release."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.