Killer robots - UNSW Computing Public Lecture Series

A public lecture by artificial intelligence expert Professor Toby Walsh

The age of autonomous killing machines is closer than you think, and scientists and computer experts are deeply worried. Already autonomous weapons systems are under development, and some have already been deployed. But there are no international agreements governing their use, nor any way to ensure they can tell friend from foe.

Toby Walsh, a professor of artificial intelligence (AI) at UNSW, was a driving force behind an open letter calling for a ban on so-called killer robots  – signed by UK physicist Stephen Hawking, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and 20,000 others. In October, he spoke at the United Nations on the issue, adding his voice to an international movement to ban or regulate what has been called the Third Revolution in Warfare.

In the first of a UNSW Computing Public Lecture Series, Professor Walsh will describe the technologies currently being developed, and why they are of such concern to leading AI researchers. He will outline the growing global push to ban their introduction, and why a number of nations are resisting the call.

Afterwards, the audience will have the opportunity to ask Professor Walsh questions via Twitter.

Join the conversation by using @UNSWComputing and #killerrobots

Event details:

When: Friday 18 March 2016, from 5.45pm to 7:00pm

Where: UNSW Kensington campus, Ainsworth Building, G03 Lecture Hall (download map here)

RSVP: registration

This event is open to the public, but tickets are limited.