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Learning From Jody Williams

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Killer Robots & Human Security | Jody Williams | TEDxGatewaySalon Jody Williams explains the move toward killer robots - the third revolution in warfare - and the threat these lethal autonomous weapons pose both to global ...
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While nuclear weapons rightly draw a lot of attention from arms control organizations, they are not the only point of interest for arms control advocates.

Killer robots are also drawing attention. Peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jody Williams recently sounded the alarm about killer robots in calling them a combination of artificial intelligence and weapons of war. She stated: "we do not need fully autonomous weapons that on their own can target and kill human beings. We need to use our resources so that the needs of people are met, not the needs of arms producers."

When asked about threats to the peace, she talked about the global arms industry.

"To my mind, the global obsession with weapons and violence while at the same time painting people who believe that peace is possible as intellectual 'light weights' who don't understand the harsh reality of the world are the two sides of the double-edged sword that keeps the world believing that only more weapons will keep us safe," said Williams. "The biggest threats are the 'modernization' of nuclear weapons and the new 'revolution' of weaponskiller robots. The weapons are fully autonomous and can target and kill human beings on their own. A devastating 'marriage' of artificial intelligence and weapons of war!"

Williams continues to speak out on landmines and points to the fact that they killed 5,000 people in 2019. The Landmine Ban Treaty has 164 state supporters, and the United States is not one of them. President Donald Trump did little on this issue, and President Joe Biden stated our country would not enter the treaty, as Biden fells landmines are a crucial part of our military arsenal.

Ms. Williams' voice is needed on the issue of killer robots and landmines, and one doesn't have to be an expert on nuclear weapons to know of their dangers. However, she never talks about the geopolitical tensions that are tearing the world apart and making the concept of international law close to obsolete on many issues. Russia and China, with an assorted group of allies, and the United States, with another group of allies, are balancing each other in an arms race. Biden's defense budget for next year is bigger than Trump's last defense budget!

There must be an effort on the part of the world's primary powers to push the conflicts out of the military sphere and into the social and cultural sphere. Law can only come about with the cooperation between all those who possess the power to make law possible!

Jason Sibert is Executive Director of the Peace Economy Project.

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Jason Sibert worked for the Suburban Journals in the St. Louis area as a staff writer for a decade. His work has been published in a variety of publications since then and he is currently the executive director of the Peace Economy Project.
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