News

How ‘killer robots’ can alter the warfare and border control

Published

2 years ago

10/11/2021

MNN

A rapidly developing weapon system, killer robots can choose to attack what they see as a threat, which includes humans, who will have no control over them.

With no human assistance, killer robots making decisions about humans could be a science fiction movie-worthy scenario.

But Amnesty International says we are now facing the unthinkable – “Killer robots are not a future problem anymore.”

Human rights organisations warn that they’re already functional, heavily invested, and can be a grave threat to humanity.

Here’s what you need to know about these killer machines.

A product of AI and new technology

What human rights organisations call “killer robots” are crewless combat aerial vehicles or lethal autonomous weapons systems, also known as LAWS.

These systems are powered by the most evolved artificial intelligence. Thanks to augmented reality (AR) technology, killer robots use facial recognition, movement sensors and the ability to attack humans with a mind of its own or with no meaningful human control.

These lethal autonomous weapons systems are “programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true ‘fire, forget and find’ capability,” a 2021 report commissioned by the United Nations said.

It means the weapon is able to guide itself to attack a target after it’s fired.

They can take “unethical” life and death decisions

But human rights organisations have been pointing out that machines should be charged to take complex ethical decisions.

“They lack compassion and understanding, they make decisions based on biased, flawed and oppressive processes,” Amnesty International said on November 4, in a petition launched with the partnership of Stop Killer Robots.

“Emerging technologies like facial and vocal recognition often fail in recognising women, people of colour and persons with disabilities. This means that autonomous weapons can never be adequately programmed to substitute human decision making,” the human rights group explained.

A similar concern was raised in a study that discovered that a popular artificial intelligence model was extremely biased.

The text it generated persistently assembles sentences linking Muslims with violence the most, while also targeting certain religious groups, including Jews and some races.

The future of warfare and border control

Amnesty says these weapons could be used in conflict zones, by police forces and in border control.

This could change the direction of modern warfare as machines replaced with troops would allow countries to go to war much easier.

However, the campaigners say the machines are prone to fail to make decisions in unexpected real-world battlefield scenarios.

But warfare isn’t the only area that the campaigners say would be affected by weapons equipped with increasing autonomy.

If it became widespread, the police forces could use the help of these systems – a possible threat to freedom of expression and the right to protest.

Amidst a worldwide refugee crisis caused by wars and border disputes, killer robots also could be deployed for border control to monitor refugees fleeing conflict.

But while Human rights organisations are particularly concerned about the fragility of these systems, the race to obtain and develop these weapons could create a further catastrophe.

“The concern that these weapons might misidentify targets is the least of our worries,” James Dawes, a professor at Macalester College in St Paul, Minn, who has written about autonomous weapons, told the New York Times in June.

“More significant is the threat of an AWS arms race and proliferation crisis,” he said, referring to Amazon Web Services, the leading public cloud solutions vendor.

AWS has taken the unprecedented move of producing its own server processors based on the Arm architecture.

Human rights groups call for urgent regulation

Human Rights Watch says “killer robots” are no less a threat to humanity than climate change and “deserves urgent multilateral action.”

The issue is a matter of concern to the United Nations as well since 2013, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling them “morally repugnant and politically unacceptable.”

Ninety-seven countries have responded to the Secretary General’s call by discussing the concerns regarding the ‘killer robots’ but half the world’s countries have not given their views, hence a report by HRW.

Despite the concerns, the US, China, Israel, South Korea, Russia, Australia, India, and the UK continue to invest in these weapons.

“We have had a decade of talks on autonomous weapons at the United Nations, but these are being blocked by the same states that are developing the weapons,” said Ousman Noor of the Stop Killer Robots campaign.

“We need a robust, legally binding international treaty to stop the proliferation of killer robots – before it’s too late,” said Amnesty in its recent petition call.

A group of UN experts will meet to decide whether to begin negotiating new international law on autonomy in weapons systems in December this year.

Source: TRT World

News

Coral bleaching alert level raised from ‘watch’ to ‘warning’

Published

8 hours ago

03/05/2024

The coral bleaching alert level in the Maldives has been raised from ‘watch’ to ‘warning’, with the Maldives Marine Research Institute warning it may soon rise further to the highest alert level in the north and southern Maldives.

Coral bleaching is when corals turn white due to various stressors. However, the leading cause of coral bleaching is climate change.

The world is currently experiencing the fourth global coral bleaching event, and the second one within the span of the year.

The MMRI said in a statement that it is now receiving reports of widespread coral bleaching across the Maldives.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which runs a Coral Reef Program, the latest satellite images show the bleaching alert level in the Maldives is now at ‘warning’ level – the third highest warning level – up from ‘watch’ just a month ago.

The MMRI warned that the alert level is expected to rise to ‘alert level 1’ within one week.

“It is also possible that areas in the north and south of Maldives will reach ‘alert level 2’,” warned the institute.

Maldives experienced its first widespread coral bleaching incident in 1998.

According to MMRI, such incidents have increased in frequency.

The institute also warned that human activities may impede coral recovery.

“While Maldives’ corals recover faster after bleaching incidents compared to other countries, the impact of human activities at such a time could slow down recovery and even obstruct it,” warned the institute.

Human activities that may impede coral recovery include dredging, land reclamation and beach nourishment.

“Such activities have a negative impact on coral reef ecosystems, even if it’s is just temporary,” said the MMRI.

“We urge all parties to suspend activities that may raise coral stress level, amid forecasts of coral bleaching incidents due to the warming ocean temperature.”

MMRI also urged all parties to report coral bleach incidents to the institute.

Source(s): sun.mv

News

Land up for sale from two phases of Thilafushi

Published

8 hours ago

03/05/2024

Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has announced the sale of land from Phase I and Phase II of the industrial island of Thilafushi, exclusively for Maldivian citizens.

Total 108 plots are available for industrial purposes from Thilafushi Zone A, Area B.

Type 1: 2,500-4,999 square feet, 64 plots
Type 2: 5,000-9,999 square feet, 42 plots
Type 3: 10,000-14,999 square feet, 2 plots

The sale of land will be carried out in two phases; the submission of Expression of Interest (EOI) and, in cases where a plot receives more than one EOI, it will go to bidding.

The minimum bid price is MVR 1,700 per square feet.

Interested parties can submit their bids via HDC’s portal or via email to sales@hdc.mv.

Meanwhile, the opportunity has also been opened for parties who have leased land from Phase I of Thilafushi to purchase the plot. The opportunity is open for parties who have leased land the size of 5,000 square feet or more.

Thilafushi is being developed as the main industrial and business hub in the greater Male’ region.

Source(s): sun.mv

World

UN report: Conflict could set Gaza development back four decades

Published

8 hours ago

03/05/2024

The development of Gaza could face a retrogression by over four decades if the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict was to last for nine months, according to a UN report.

The report, issued on Thursday, reveals a joint study by the UN Development Programme and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which warns of sharp decline in the Human Development Index (HDI), a summary measure of well-being, in the Gaza Strip and Palestine amid the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The study showed that after nine months of the conflict, the HDI for Gaza could fall to 0.551, setting back progress by 44 years. For Palestine, development could retrogress by more than 20 years – to earlier than 2004.

“This assessment projects that Gaza will be rendered fully dependent on external assistance on a scale not seen since 1948, as it will be left without a functional economy, or any means of production, self-sustainment, employment, or capacity for trade,” said ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti.

As the conflict approaches its seventh month, the poverty rate in Palestine has surged to 58.4 percent and its GDP has plunged by 26.9 percent, resulting in a loss of $7.1 billion from a 2023 no-war baseline, the UN report showed.

At least 34,596 Palestinians have been killed and 77,816 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to latest update by Palestine’s health ministry.

Hamas said on Thursday it is studying Israeli ceasefire proposals in a “positive spirit” and a delegation is set to visit Egypt soon for further talks, as Israel reiterates it will attack Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah regardless.

Meanwhile, Israel launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights on Thursday night against a military site near the Syrian capital of Damascus, injuring eight soldiers and causing material losses, the Syrian Defense Ministry said.

The targeted areas are known strongholds for elements of Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias, according to the observatory in Syria.

This attack follows a reported decline in Israeli attacks over the past month, which the Syrian observatory’s director attributed to the strikes on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1.

Iran on Thursday announced sanctions on several American and British individuals and entities for supporting Israel in its war against Hamas. The sanctions include prohibiting accounts and transactions in the Iranian financial and banking systems, and blocking assets within the jurisdiction of Iran as well as visa issuance and entry to the Iranian territory.

Türkiye also announced the halt of all trade activities with Israel as of Thursday until the latter allows the flow of humanitarian aid to the region, said the Turkish trade ministry.

A Shiite militia in Iraq on Thursday claimed responsibility for a missile attack on three sites in the cities of Tel Aviv and Be’er Sheva in Israel “in solidarity with the people of Gaza,” and pledged to persist in targeting the “enemy’s strongholds.” The group has launched multiple attacks on Israeli and U.S. bases in the region since the Gaza conflict broke out.

Source(s): CGTN