Terrorists and rogue states likely to get their hands on Terminator-style killer robots in 'very near future'

Autonomous weapons which can pull the trigger without the use of human control are already being developed, experts warned. Photo / 123RF

Parliament has been warned that terrorists and rogue states will get their hands on killer robots in the next few years.

Academics and senior scientists warned the "genie is out the bottle" when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on the battlefield.

And now AI experts also warned the House of Lords inquiry this week that terrorists are now looking to hijack self-driving cars to mow down innocent people in a copycat Westminster Bridge-style attack, reports Daily Mail.

Autonomous weapons which can pull the trigger without the use of human control are already being developed, experts warned.

Alvin Wilby, of French defence firm Thales, said it is an "absolute certainty in the very near future" that rogue states will be able to get their hands on robot arms.

Dr Wilby also added the rise in self-driving cars which use on-board computers give terrorists another chance to carry out attacks.

He added: "The genie's out of the bottle and the capability is out there."

Professor Noel Sharkey, who is an expert in robotics, highlighted that ISIS already use remote-control plans to drop grenades on troops, the Sun reports.

He added: "One of the problems is the more we develop this technology, what we'll see is very bad copies coming back that have made no attempt at discrimination or proportionality whatsoever."

Got to regulate AI/robotics like we do food, drugs, aircraft & cars. Public risks require public oversight. Getting rid of the FAA wdn’t make flying safer. They’re there for good reason.https://t.co/6OXZC3UdMW

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 26, 2017

Ministry of Defence official Mike Stone said: "I think it's absolutely inevitable that this is going to get into the hands of non-state actors and certainly rogue states, North Korea and Iran top the list in most people's minds."

Dr Wilby added: "If someone's car is reprogrammed to kill pedestrians, it's become an autonomous weapons system. That's a credible terrorist threat."

Previously, billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk warned that advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) pose more of a threat to humanity than North Korea.

"If you're not concerned about AI safety, you should be. Vastly more risk than North Korea," Musk wrote on Twitter Friday.

Musk, 46, posted the ominous message after a war of words between North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump escalated this week.