Experts will meet at the United Nations in Geneva to debate the issue of killer robots and their uses.
The conversation will take place between Prof. Ronald Arkin and Prof. Noel Sharkey during the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). It will be the first time that the issue of killer robots is discussed within the CCW, according to The Independent.
The issue is being debated due to fears that the robots could pose a "threat to humanity" when created.
Killer robots are fully autonomous weapons that can choose and engage targets without intervention from humans. While these weapons are not distributed or manufactured today, they are coming closer to existence due to technological advancements, BBC News reported.
Those who oppose their creation support the ban of any autonomous "kill functions."
"Autonomous weapons systems cannot be guaranteed to predictably comply with international law," said Sharkey, a member and co-founder of the Campaign Against Killer Robots and chairman of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control. "Nations aren't talking to each other about this, which poses a big risk to humanity."
Arkin, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, said killer robots could be used to reduce non-combatant casualties and may be more effective than humans in determining when to not engage with a target. He added, however, that the robots should not be used for warfare before they are ready, The Independent reported.
"I support a moratorium until that end is achieved, but I do not support a ban at this time," Arkin said.
Sharkey said he is less optimistic about the use of the machines, BBC News reported.
"I'm concerned about the full automation of warfare," he said.
When the UN Human Rights Council responded to concerns over the technology in March, Christof Heyns, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for a moratorium on the robots to prevent their deployment, The Independent reported.
"Robots should not have the power of life and death over human beings," Heyns said before his address.
In regards to the US's use of remotely-piloted drones to target individuals, Heyns stated that "there is reason to believe that states will, inter alia, see to use lethal autonomous robots for targeted killings."
The discussions between Arkin and Sharkey will be presented in a full report to the CCW in November.
