When it comes to the discussions about the ethics of AI, killer robots are never far off. Many people seem to think that the biggest threat from AI is the arrival of swarms of slaughterbots, killer drones or Terminator-like killing machines. Part of this scare probably comes from popular culture. From films like Robocop and Monsters of Man, in which robots that are designed with the best intentions, go rogue. 

It is true that artificial intelligence and particularly machine learning now provides unprecedented opportunities to increase the autonomy of weapons. It is logical that people are worried that machines could end up making decisions over life and death. While most people are – understandably – less concerned about developments of AI in the commercial sector. The next RAIN ETHICS video will look into the relationship between the military and commercial use of AI – and why that deserves just as much attention as the so-called killer robots.