AI-powered armed robots trigger a debate around safety, future of warfare

US, Israel, Korean Demilitarised Zone, Gaza, all have these robots in one form or the other

The San Francisco Police Department’s (SFPD’s) decision to induct robots that can use deadly force has led to controversy in America’s civil society and upped decibel levels in an ongoing debate about “killer robots” – that is, semi-autonomous and fully autonomous weapons. The SFPD could deploy robots “equipped with explosive charges to breach fortified structures containing violent, armed, or dangerous subjects".

The Dallas police have already used a robot, the Northrop Grumman Remotec, with a payload of explosives to winkle out an urban sniper hidden inside a building. Apart from explosives, the Remotec is marketed as capable of using a