UN chief calls AI weapons 'killer robots,' warns of unchecked battlefield use

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has labeled AI-powered weapons and unmanned systems such as drones used in warfare "killer robots," voicing concern over their proliferation on the battlefield.

Guterres took to social media Monday (local time) to declare that "AI has come to the battlefield," singling out "lethal autonomous weapons systems" as his gravest concern. "We should call them what they are," he wrote. "Killer robots."

He described AI weapons used in war as "machines that select and attack targets and take lives without human control or judgment," adding that such systems are "morally repugnant and politically unacceptable" and must be banned under international law.

Stressing the primacy of human agency, Guterres said there is no need to wait for a catastrophe to act. "Some decisions must always remain in human hands," he wrote, "and none more so than the decision to take a human life."

The UN hosted the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday and Tuesday.

In a follow-up post, Guterres said he had attended the dialogue and that his message was clear: "The future of AI must be shaped by human oversight and effective governance."

He warned that regulation and institutional frameworks are failing to keep pace with AI development, cautioning that without governance, AI risks deepening inequality and eroding trust.

"Innovation needs safeguards," he said, adding that the world must ensure AI is developed safely, equitably and for the benefit of all humanity.

The Wall Street Journal said Guterres' remarks have brought back into focus an AI safety dispute at the heart of a clash earlier this year between the US Defense Department and Anthropic.

The US military reportedly used Anthropic's Claude in an operation to arrest former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this year, triggering a backlash from Anthropic and sparking a public dispute.

The Pentagon has maintained that it may use AI for any lawful activity, while Anthropic has said its AI models must not be used for mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons.

Military use of AI is expanding. According to the Wall Street Journal, AI systems and chips originally designed for civilian use are increasingly being deployed on the battlefield and in military command centers.

Proponents of AI weapons, including military and defense industry officials, argue that AI-assisted weapons remain under human control and enhance operational effectiveness. Critics counter that AI systems are prone to errors and that ceding control in high-stakes situations is dangerous.

The debate over when humans must intervene when AI is used on the battlefield continues.

The Wall Street Journal noted that arguments over how to regulate AI systems remain fierce, and that the US government is working to establish procedures to verify the safety of AI models before their release.