One of the most controversial aspects of the rise of intelligent machines is the development of ‘lethal autonomous weapon systems’. But what impact will these 'killer robots' have on the way wars are fought?
Can we retain some form of human control, is there any way to responsibly manage their risks and benefits? Or is now the time to ban killer robots?
Join Scientia Professor Toby Walsh, UNSW's 'rockstar' expert on AI, Associate Professor Jessica Whyte, a philosopher seeking to illuminate the moral economy of contemporary warfare, and Matilda Byrne, a specialist in international security and disarmament.
This event will discuss the international movement to bring about a ban, why it exists and how it relates to the situation in Australia.
Toby Walsh is an ARC Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of AI at UNSW Sydney and CSIRO Data61. He is a strong advocate for limits to ensure AI is used to improve our lives, having spoken at the UN, and to heads of state, parliamentary bodies, company boards and many other bodies on this topic. He is a Fellow of the Australia Academy of Science, and was named on the international Who's Who in AI list of influencers. He has authored three books on AI for a general audience, the most recent entitled Machines Behaving Badly: the morality of AI.
Jessica Whyte is Scientia Associate Professor of Philosophy at UNSW Sydney, with a cross-appointment in the Faculty of Law. Her work integrates political philosophy, intellectual history, and political economy to analyse contemporary forms of sovereignty, human rights, humanitarianism, and militarism. Jessica’s work has been published in a range of fora including Contemporary Political Theory; Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism and Development; Law and Critique; Political Theory; and South Atlantic Quarterly. She is the author of two monographs, Catastrophe and Redemption: The Political Thought of Giorgio Agamben, and The Morals of the Market: Human Rights and the Rise of Neoliberalism.
