Should we ban weapons that don't even exist yet?

Jul 20, 2016

An unidentified operator walks next to an LS 3 (Legged Squad Support System) robot designed to go any place soldiers and Marines go on foot, helping to carry their gear, during this demonstration in Homestead, Florida December 20, 2013. The south Florida city is hosting an international Robotics Challenge Trials this weekend, organized by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The competition, for the creation of robots that can respond to natural and man-made disasters, was created following the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan. After the disaster the Pentagon sent robots designed to disarm improvised explosive devices in Iraq to try to help fix problems at the destroyed reactor in areas highly contaminated by radioactive releases where humans could not work. REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY POLITICS)

Bomb-disposal units and LS3 robotic soldier assistants (pictured) are thought to be the stepping stone to autonomous weapons. Image: REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity

Anja Kaspersen

Former Head of Geopolitics and International Security, World Economic Forum

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