menu hero image
+

Less autonomy. More humanity.

Technology should be used to empower all people, not to reduce us – to stereotypes, labels, objects, or just a pattern of 1’s and 0’s.

With growing digital dehumanisation, the Stop Killer Robots coalition works to ensure human control in the use of force. Our campaign calls for new international law on autonomy in weapons systems.

Why we exist
+

The facts about digital dehumanisation

Dehumanisation

Machines don’t see us as people, just another piece of code to be processed and sorted. From smart homes to the use of robot dogs by police enforcement, A.I. technologies and automated decision-making are now playing a significant role in our lives. At the extreme end of the spectrum of automation lie killer robots.

Killer robots don’t just appear – we create them. If we allow this dehumanisation we will struggle to protect ourselves from machine decision-making in other areas of our lives. We need to prohibit autonomous weapons systems that would be used against people, to prevent this slide to digital dehumanisation.

A.I. and Race

Tech like facial recognition favours light-skinned and outwardly masculine faces over darker-skinned and outwardly feminine faces. And, while efforts will be made to diversify data sets, this is not just a case of unrepresentative data. A.I. technologies are reinforcing existing institutional patterns of discrimination. Stereotypes are entrenched by automated decision-making.

New law is needed on autonomy in weapons systems to create boundaries between what is acceptable and unacceptable. This is fundamental to preventing digital dehumanisation and further cycles of oppression and violence. We should be challenging structures of inequality, not embedding them into weapons.

#KeepCtrl

Whether on the battlefield or at a protest, machines cannot make complex ethical choices, they cannot comprehend the value of human life. Machines don’t understand contexts or consequences: understanding is a human capability – and without that understanding we lose moral engagement and we undermine existing legal rules.

Ensuring meaningful human control means understanding the technologies we use, understanding where we are using them, and being fully engaged with the consequences of our actions. Life and death decisions should not be delegated to a machine. It’s time for new international law to regulate these technologies.

Image alt text

Immoral Code is a film that contemplates the impact of Killer Robots in an increasingly automated world- one where machines make decisions over who to kill or what to destroy. It examines if there are situations where it’s morally acceptable to take life, and - would a computer know the difference?

Immoral Code

Learn More

Latest news from around the world

2

2023 CCW falls short of the UN Secretary-General and ICRC calls for a legal instrument by 2026.

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) agrees to work all the way to 2026 - but only to consider the possible elements of some sort of instrument, and not to actually negotiate anything. From 16th-18th November the 2023 Meeting of High Contracting Parties to the CCW were supposed to meet to decide on a way forward for their work on autonomous weapons amongst other issues.  The meeting was bitter and shambolic, with more than a whole day lost completely because of Russia blocking confirmation of the Rules of Procedure. This forced the meeting to do its work informally and resulted in observers, international organisations and civil society being blocked from participating in the few sections of the meeting where any substantive work was done.

3

Statement on Human Resources allegations

Stop Killer Robots is aware that there have been allegations raised online that a staff member has been let go for expressing their support for Palestinians during the current conflict in Gaza. While Human Resources matters are internal and confidential, we wish to categorically state that no-one has been dismissed for expressing their views on the Israel/Palestine […]

Research and resources

FAQs on UNGA Resolution

A resolution on Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS) will be tabled at the First Committee of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in October 2023. The resolution requests the United Nations Secretary-General to seek the views of states and stakeholders on addressing the legal, ethical, humanitarian, and security...

5 reasons why a UNGA resolution is vital

The First Committee session of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) in October 2023 provides a crucial opportunity for progress. After 10 years of international discussions without concrete outcomes within the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), a resolution will be tabled at the First Committee calling...

Stopping Killer Robots: A Guide for Policy Makers

Through increased functionality in artificial intelligence and the processing of data through algorithms, machines are beginning to replace humans in the application of force. This has unpredictable and potentially devastating consequences for humanity. It is critical for internationally agreed limits on autonomy in weapon systems to be agreed. A new...

Image alt text
SKR dots icon

Stop killer robots

Join us

Keep up with the latest developments in the movement to Stop Killer Robots.

Join us