Some of the world's most powerful tech leaders and many esteemed academics have signed a pledge promising not to develop lethal autonomous weapons. The most notable signatories include the three co-founders of Google-owned AI research company DeepMind — Demis Hassabis, Shane Legg, and Mustafa Suleyman — as well as controversial Boring Company founder Elon Musk and the head of Google's AI division, Jeffrey Dean.

Numerous other tech founders and researchers in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer science have added to the 2,515 signatures from 176 organizations around the world. The pledge calls for stronger "regulations and laws against lethal autonomous weapons," with the endorsers separately committing not to "participate in nor support the development, manufacture, trade, or use" of such arms.

Others are encouraged to add their names to the list to put further pressure on lawmakers and governments to establish acceptable use of AI in military systems going forward. The moral questions and potential for loss of control that would arise from a machine making the decision to take a human life are problems that this pledge hopes can be avoided.

Source: Future of Life Institute

Via: The Verge

Image: Defense.gov