German army reveals the use of "deadly robots"

The German army denied its intention to possess automatic weapons, which some described as "deadly robots", according to Reuters quoted a military commander.

Lt. Gen. Ludwig Linhaus, commander of the Internet Security Unit, which was founded in April 2017, confirmed this trend during a discussion on artificial intelligence on the sidelines of the Munich Annual Security Conference.

"We have no intention of bringing ... autonomous systems," he said.

He added that the German army should be prepared to counter such weapons, if used by other countries.

There was a need for broader political and legal debate on the subject, which had become an issue in light of rapid technological developments that might permit the use of more self-contained weapons, such as drones and others.

During the conference, Mary Farisham, coordinator of Stop Killer Robots, said 22 countries had already agreed to support the self-sustaining arms embargo, and her group was trying to raise awareness about it.

It was important to ensure that "human control" continued in weapons systems and that agreements were required in the light of rapid technological development.

"It's technology that changes the rules of the game," she said.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former NATO secretary-general, said at the conference he strongly believed in the importance of preventing the production and use of such weapons, which he said would "create more instability".