Activists Call for International Ban on Fully Autonomous Weapons-英语听力

[00:00.100]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.210]this is the Technology Report. [00:05.770]An international coalition is calling for a ban [00:11.070]on fully autonomous weapons known as "killer robots." [00:16.750]The 45-member coalition proposed the ban [00:20.950]to governments last month [00:23.060]at a meeting of the United Nations Convention [00:26.570]on Conventional Weapons in Geneva, Switzerland. [00:30.370]The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots [00:33.740]wants the U.N. organization to add fully autonomous weapons [00:39.690]to its work program in 2014. [00:43.990]Scientists have yet to develop fully autonomous killer robots. [00:49.200]However, technology is moving toward increasing autonomy. [00:55.050]Such weapons would identify [00:57.900]and attack targets without human assistance. [01:01.810]Noel Sharkey is a founding member [01:05.210]of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. [01:08.610]He also chairs the International Committee for Robot Arms Control. [01:14.620]Mr Sharkey says autonomous weapons should be banned. [01:20.370]"The big problem for me is that there are no robot systems [01:23.820]that can discriminate between civilian targets and military targets [01:29.400]unless they are very, very clearly marked in some way… [01:32.900]so, the idea of having robots going out into the field [01:35.860]and selecting their own targets is to me, [01:38.060]is just horrifying. It cannot work, " said Sharkey. [01:40.350]Activists say robotic systems with different degrees of autonomy [01:45.410]are already in use by Britain, Israel, [01:49.220]the United States and South Korea. [01:52.800]They believe China and Russia are also moving toward these systems. [01:58.850]Steve Goose is a member of the campaign, [02:02.200]he also directs the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch. [02:07.200]He warns the killer robots will become a reality [02:12.060]unless governments act now to ban them. [02:15.660]He says the world should oppose the weapons system [02:20.330]that would be able to identify and attack targets mechanically. [02:25.830]He believes such a system crosses a basic moral and ethical line. [02:32.080]"Robotic weapons systems should not make life [02:35.340]and death decisions on the battlefield. [02:37.370]That is simply inherently wrong. [02:39.010]So, they need to be banned on ethical grounds. [02:42.820]We think they also need to be banned on legal grounds. [02:45.720]If and when a killer robot commits a war crime, [02:51.120]violates international humanitarian law… [02:53.940]who would be held accountable, [02:55.290]who would be responsible for that violation?" said Goose. [02:57.440]He adds that in recent months, fully autonomous weapons [03:01.390]have gone from a little known issue to one [03:05.240]that is commanding worldwide attention. [03:08.100]He says that since last May, [03:12.370]34 countries have openly expressed concern [03:17.030]about the dangers the weapons present. [03:20.080]Mr Goose notes that in 1995, [03:24.330]the Convention on Conventional Weapons [03:27.550]added a new policy to the treaty, [03:30.300]which barred the use of blinding lasers. [03:34.110]He believes killer robots could become the second such weapon [03:39.510]to be banned before it is ever used in battle. [03:43.760]And that is the Technology Report from VOA Learning English.