US-China AI race to develop killer robots risks catastrophe, warn peace campaigners

FILE PHOTO: An activist from the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of non-governmental organisations opposing lethal autonomous weapons or so-called 'killer robots', protests at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, March, 21, 2019. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

An artificial intelligence arms race between majors powers such as China, Russia and the US could lead to catastrophe for humanity, according to a peace campaign organisation.

The report, by the Dutch-based organisation Pax, called for a pre-emptive ban on so-called killer robots and warned that the development of the technology could leave algorithms deciding whether people would live or die.