ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
Killing machines have no moral compass
Kenneth Payne's book chillingly demonstrates how the military use of Artificial Intelligence weapons is becoming ever more dangerous, says ANDY HEDGECOCK
MENACE: A robot sentry
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
MICK McSHANE rubs shoulders with Mod legend Steve Craddock and joins in with the joyous Glasgow choir
DENNIS BROE sifts out the ideological bias of the newest TV series offerings, and picks out what to see, and what to avoid
I, Warbot: The Dawn of Artificially Intelligent Conflict
by Kenneth Payne
(Hurst, £20)
IN A recent column for Forbes magazine, venture capitalist Mark Minevich suggested “ethics leaders” in organisations such as Deloitte, IBM and the US army will ensure artificial intelligence (AI) is leveraged for the benefit of humanity.
Kenneth Payne’s I, Warbot is the antidote to this glib optimism. It highlights subtle issues affecting the design and impact of military AI and attempts to craft an ethical framework appropriate to its development.
Payne’s starting point is the three laws of robotics proposed by Isaac Asimov in his science fiction classic I, Robot and he points out that rules predicated on protecting humans from harm and injury are irrelevant to machines designed for violence. And Asimov’s principles do not cover neural networks and other learning machines that exhibit an unanticipated repertoire of behaviours.
More from this author
ANDREW HEDGECOCK relishes visual storytelling with no respect for genres, movements or styles
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
Two books and a film that examine cultural excavation and the impact of place on behaviour
ANDY HEDGECOCK invites readers to contribute short fiction to our arts pages, offers some guidance and picks a few favourites
