Japan, the United States and other countries have blocked any advancement in U.N. talks toward legally binding measures to ban and regulate the development and use of lethal autonomous weapon systems. Also referred to as "killer robots," autonomous weapons are artificial intelligence-powered weapons using facial recognition and algorithms. Autonomous weapons are known to be in development, but are not yet in use. Mary Wareham, arms advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, an international NGO, said the outcome is "a completely inadequate multilateral response" given the urgent need for new international law on autonomous weapons. "Military powers Russia & United States are primarily responsible for this shameful result," Wareham wrote on Twitter.

Source: Libya Today December 19, 2021 22:32 UTC