That is the stark warning from a leading robotics expert who spoke today of the dangers of allowing increasingly sophisticated robots to make decisions of life and death.

Professor Noel Sharkey, a robotics and artificial intelligent expert from the University of Sheffield, also warned that armed robots could soon become terrorists' weapon of choice.

"The trouble is that we can't really put the genie back in the bottle,” said Professor Starkey.

“Once the new weapons are out there, they will be fairly easy to copy. How long is it going to be before the terrorists get in on the act?"

Over 4,000 robots are currently deployed on the ground in Iraq and by October 2006 unmanned aircraft had flown 400,000 flight hours.

At the moment, humans can make the decision whether to attack or not but a recent policy shift in the U.S means that 'intelligent' autonomous attack robots will soon be given the power to decide who and when to kill.

In his keynote speech at a conference organised by the Royal United Services Institute, a military thinktank, Sharkey warned: "There's a massive drive towards developing autonomous robots for more complex missions.

"We are rapidly moving towards robots that can make the decision to apply lethal force, when to apply it and who to apply it to.

"I think maybe we're talking about a 10-year time frame.

Prof Sharkey, who acted as a judge in the BBC television series Robot Wars, says that deadly homebuilt robots will soon be within reach for many would-be terrorists.

"With the current prices of robot construction falling dramatically and the availability of ready-made components for the amateur market, it wouldn't require a lot of skill to make autonomous robot weapons."

Full article from the Daily Mail

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