Senator Taylor Greene Warns Against Use of Robots ‘that Can Kill People’ in Warfare

Autonomous machines capable of deadly force are increasingly prevalent in modern warfare, despite numerous ethical concerns.

Some military experts argued that Slaughter-bots – which was made by the Future of Life Institute, an organisation researching existential threats to humanity – sensationalised a serious problem, stoking fear where calm reflection was required. But when it comes to the future of war, the line between science fiction and industrial fact is often blurry.

The US air force has predicted a future in which “Swat teams will send mechanical insects equipped with video cameras to creep inside a building during a hostage standoff”. One “microsystems collaborative” has already released Octoroach, an “extremely small robot with a camera and radio transmitter that can cover up to 100 metres on the ground”.

It is only one of many “biomimetic”, or nature-imitating, weapons that are on the horizon. At the U.S House Oversight Committee hearing last week, lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene Republican Party questioned witnesses about the use of robots in warfare.