Unknown Killer Robots Review: Whether the use of artificial intelligence in military operations will be a good move or not, is explored in this Netflix documentary. It is directed by Jesse Sweet and co-produced by Dan Bromfield. The film has a runtime of about 1 hour and 8 minutes, executive produced by Leslie Grief, Dan Cogan, Liz Garbus, Jon Bardin and Mala Chapple.
The documentary features various experts, scientists, journalists etc including Brandon Tseng, Paul Scharre, Bob Work, Stacie Pettyjohn, Mark Mason, Nathan Michael, Andrew Yang, Meredith Broussard, Zachary Kallenborn, Pulkit Agrawal, Nick Bilton, Emilia Javorsky, Sean Ekins, Fabio Urbina and several others.
Unknown Killer Robots Review
Whenever the talk of using artificial intelligence comes up, visuals from various sci-fi movies come to mind and are often disastrous. Therefore, as fictional elements are becoming a reality in front of our eyes, the questions of ethics and risks become crucial. The documentary shows that deep in the heart of the military-industrial complex, a new kind of soldier is being developed. AI-powered robots are changing the face of warfare, and increasingly making their own decisions on the battlefield.
Different kinds of robots which are being made with the goal of integrating into the core of the military are explored. First, we meet with Brandon Tseng of Shield AI, who is engineering a Pilot AI. It looks like a drone with hi-tech features and makes autonomous decisions. It is not manually controlled but would execute any task on the basis of its own decision-making. Brandon comments that they can be highly useful in situations like close-quarter combats or to get a sense of a situation/location without having to endanger human resources.
The argument in favour of using AI military is always about saving more manpower and putting robots in their places. They would give more precise results and less risk of losing military personnel. But then the question arises if autonomous AI can handle the complexities of the real world. As a human, one would know that a little child is not a threat that needs to be shot down. But if the AI is executed to eliminate any activity in a particular area, it would shoot down anyone regardless. In a sense, it isn’t different from a video game and could it potentially isolate us from the gravity of war/ loss of human life.
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Secondly, we get to see Robot dogs that are being engineered by MIT professors to explore difficult terrains and reach places where humans can’t easily. At first glance, it looks like a great idea that could help in rescue missions or surveilling areas but the moment they become weaponised, the equation changes and they wonder if it really is an advantageous invention. Similarly, pharmacologists Sean Ekins and Fabio Urbina were in awe of AI in discovering and developing new drugs that could help.
At the same time, when they were figuring out if the same AI could be misused, they found out that programming the AI to come up with deadly molecules can be far more disastrous. As much help as it can be in new discoveries, it can be equally fatal in creating dangerous chemical warfare agents. An example of a VX nerve agent is shown which was allegedly used in killing the North Korean Kim Jong-nam. In a video highly circulated on social media as well, a woman from behind was seen covering Jong-nam’s face with her hands and running away before he could turn back.
It looks like a prank at first but in the next few minutes, the man ended up dead, leaving the security personnel at the airport, puzzled about his cause of death. It is believed that a similar agent was smeared on his face and when it came in contact with the skin, it penetrated and disrupted the transmission of nerve impulses. Working like an instant poison. Now, if somebody with ill intent gets the complete cookbook of even more venomous agents, the results will only be catastrophic.
In today’s age, the integration of AI elements in our daily lives is increasing whether we are in favour of it or not. Similarly, it’s not unlikely that the military wouldn’t use the same for having an upper over the other. The question remains – where would they draw the line? Something good can turn bad quickly, depending upon the intent and while it’s inevitable, drawing out some ground rules and risk management should be the first priority.
Rating: 3/5
Unknown Killer Robots is currently streaming on Netflix.
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