The role of Amazon and Microsoft in the development of autonomous weapons pointed the finger

Washington (AFP)

The Americans Amazon, Microsoft and Intel are among the giants of tech who could lead a huge arms race in the field of artificial intelligence, according to an NGO report on weapons of self-destruction.

The Dutch organization PAX surveyed the main players in this highly strategic sector and ranked 50 companies according to three criteria: do they develop technologies to create "killer robots"? Do they work on military projects related to these technologies? Have they promised to refrain from contributing in the future?

The use of artificial intelligence to allow weapon systems to automatically select and attack targets has caused significant ethical debate in recent years.

For some critics, one could even witness the third revolution of the art of war after the invention of the powder and the nuclear bomb.

"Why are companies like Microsoft and Amazon not denying that they are currently developing these highly controversial weapons that could decide to kill themselves, without human involvement?" Asks Frank Slijper, principal author of the report published Monday.

Twenty-two companies represent a "medium concern" for the report's authors, whose analysis covers 12 countries around the world. Among them, the Japanese SoftBank, especially known for its humanoid robot Pepper.

The "high concern" category includes 21 companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, both of which are trying to sign a contract with the Pentagon to provide the US military with its cloud infrastructure (online data storage service). ).

"Autonomous weapons will inevitably become weapons of mass destruction," Stuart Russell, professor of computer science at the University of California at Berkeley, told AFP.

Google and six other companies are in the "good practice" category.

Last year, Google gave up running for the Pentagon's "cloud" deal because it could be at odds with its "principles" in artificial intelligence.

The California giant had explained that it did not want to be involved in "technologies that are or could be harmful" and "weapons or other technologies whose main purpose or implementation would cause or facilitate the physical injury to people" .

© 2019 AFP