Autonomous weapons and the new laws of war
A technology that may prove hard to restrain
THE HAROP, a kamikaze drone, bolts from its launcher like a horse out of the gates. But it is not built for speed, nor for a jockey. Instead it just loiters, unsupervised, too high for those on the battlefield below to hear the thin old-fashioned whine of its propeller, waiting for its chance.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Trying to restrain the robots”
Briefing January 19th 2019
From the January 19th 2019 edition
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Israel seems certain to retaliate to Iran’s missile attack
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A war meant to draw in the militant group’s allies has instead left them battered
After the decapitation of Hizbullah, Iran could race for a nuclear bomb
The embattled clerical regime might feel the need for stronger deterrence
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