killer robots

UK Defense Chief Says Army Could Have 30,000 Robots by the 2030s

This is not a movie; this is real life. It is not a drill. In about a decade, we might see a ton of robots working alongside humans in the UK army. But don’t worry, although some of the robots will have weapons, only humans will be able to fire them. (That’s a relief, I…

Tech News Jody Serrano Nov 8

Artificially Intelligent Drones Become Terrifying Killing Machines in Dystopian Short Film

In preparation for this week’s UN Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva, Switzerland, the Future of Life Institute has released a disturbing sci-fi short that shows what might happen if we fail to place an international moratorium on autonomous killing machines. Currently, drones employed by the US military require humans to stay in the loop,…

Artificial Intelligence George Dvorsky Nov 13

116 Experts From 26 Countries Ask UN to Ban Fully Autonomous Weapons Systems

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Google AI expert Mustafa Suleyman are among 116 experts from 26 countries who have signed a letter to the United Nations asking it to ban autonomous weapons worldwide, warning killer robots could usher in an unprecedented new era of deadly warfare. The group warned the UN’s Convention on Conventional Weapons…

Privacy & Security Tom McKay Aug 20

The Killer Robots Were Totally Professional on the Set of Cult Movie Chopping Mall

Chopping Mall has earned its cult status for many good reasons. It’s fast-paced, it has a totally 1980s setting, it has one of the best exploding heads in all of horror cinema, and its villains are killer robots. And now, thanks to the Vestron Video Collector’s Series of snazzy Blu-rays, it’s never looked better. The…

io9 Cheryl Eddy Sep 26

Gale Ann Hurd Hints at the One Thing That Could Save the Terminator Movies

This is kind of an insane longshot, but Gale Ann Hurd, who produced The Terminator and Terminator 2, told fans last weekend that it’s at least possible she will team up with original director James Cameron on a new Terminator film. According to Digital Spy, Hurd was at a screening of Fear the Walking Dead…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Apr 12

Killer Robots Go on a Mysterious Rampage in the First Trailer for Kill Command

You know, sometimes you just can’t beat a good, creepy “robot goes bonkers and kills a bunch of freaked-out humans” movie. Kill Command definitely has that going for it, as well as having some really awesome-looking robot war machines. A new scifi horror movie written and directed by Steven Gomez, Kill Command follows a cyborg…

Trailers James Whitbrook Feb 26

The Books About Artificial Intelligence That You MUST Read, According to Ex Machina‘s Alex Garland

Ex Machina remains a strong contender for the best science fiction film of 2015. It’s jam-packed with ideas along with all that psychosexual weirdness. And now at last, writer-director Alex Garland has unpacked where some of those ideas come from. In case you missed it, Ex Machina is a film where Poe Dameron invites General…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Dec 31

Musk’s Plan to Save the World From Advanced AI: Develop Advanced AI

Noted killer robot-fearer Elon Musk has a plan to save humanity from the looming robopocalypse: developing advanced artificial intelligence systems. You know, the exact technologies that could lead to the robopocalypse. Let’s unpack that one a little bit. Yesterday, Tesla’s boss, along with a band of prominent tech executives including Linked in co-founder Reid Hoffman…

Artificial Intelligence Maddie Stone Dec 12

Brand New Terminator Concept Art Shows How Skynet Will Destroy Your City

It’s long been a recognized fact of existence that the best Terminator concept art is the Judgment Day concept art, or else art showing the war against Skynet in the future. So these brand new art pieces, showing Judgment Day in action, are pure apocalyptic gold. To promote the Terminator Genisys DVD/Blu-ray, Paramount commissioned four…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Nov 11

Here’s A Book That Adds a Fascinating New Dimension to Posthuman Space Opera

By now, the stories of humans transcending their limitations in space have become pretty much ubiquitous. We’ve had space cyborgs, space immortals, and tons of other posthumans in space. But the new novel Edge of Dark by Brenda Cooper still represents a fascinating new approach. In Edge of Dark, a young woman named Nona goes…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Aug 19

We Should Not Dismiss the Dangers of “Killer Robots” So Quickly

Earlier this summer, more than a thousand prominent thinkers and specialists signed an open letter calling for a ban on autonomous killing machines. Since then, a number of critics have condemned the motion, citing it as both dangerous and useless. Optimization researcher Toby Walsh explains why we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the dangers.…

io9 Toby Walsh Aug 14

How Ex Machina‘s Director Wants To Film VanderMeer’s Crazy Annihilation

Ex Machina rocked our world with its story of artificial intelligence and messed-up dynamics. And its director, Alex Garland, is in line to direct the movie of Jeff VanderMeer’s acclaimed book Annihilation next. Is that really going to happen? How do you pull that off? We asked him. Yesterday, we were lucky enough to talk…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 14

Design Secrets of Ex Machina, This Year’s Boldest Science Fiction Movie

Ex Machina looks unlike any science fiction film you’ve seen lately. Its mostly subterranean location is opulent and claustrophobic—and then there’s Ava, the eerily beautiful robot. Check out an exclusive clip from the DVD’s special features, and our interview with the film’s production designer, Mark Digby. Wewere blown away by Ex Machina when we saw…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 13

This Is Just Some Of The Most Eye-Popping Terminator Art We’ve Ever Seen

Victor Martinezhas blown our minds with dazzling concept art for Star Trek Into Darkness and Real Steel. And his Terminator Genisys concept is no less astounding. Given a chance to reimagine Skynet’s arsenal, Martinez went all out. The result is nothing less than some of the best Terminator artwork ever. We’re thrilled to premiere some…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 6

Arnold Somehow Saves Terminator Genisys From Being A Total Disaster

Arnold Schwarzenegger is once again playing a machine cloaked in human skin in Terminator Genisys, but now he’s the most human thing in a plastic movie. Arnie’s trademark grimace looks rough around the edges, like a slab of petrified wood after years of erosion. In a movie that’s basically shitty comfort food, the original Terminator…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 1

Meanwhile in the Future: What If We Banned All Weapons?

This week’s future is a social experiment. What if Earth had a robotic overlord who decided to ban all weapons? All fights would have to be hand to hand. Would there be less death that way? Less casualties? What counts as a weapon anyway? Listen to the episode to find out! To work through what…

Tech News Rose Eveleth May 26

The UN Will Debate Whether to Ban Killer Robots

Whether or not to preemptively ban killer robots will be a debate point at a United Nations meeting next week. And yes, “killer robots” sounds like a sci-fi cliche. But this is the reality of the future of warfare, and this debate is unlikely to do much other than highlight how sinister military tech may…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Apr 9

Rumor: Naked Arnie Will Look “Like A Ken Doll” In Terminator Genisys

The new Terminator movie will give us another look at the iconic scene from the original film, where a naked killer robot arrives in the past to hunt down Sarah Connor. But now it appears as though we’ll be seeing a lot more of Naked Arnold Schwarzenegger than we had in the past… but he…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Feb 25

This Trailer For Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie Gets Us Right In The Feels

Neill Blomkamp’s new robot movie Chappie is hilarious, like Short Circuit on speed, judging from what we’ve seen so far. But this brand new trailer hints that there’s a serious topic at the heart of the film, and you might want to strap yourself in for some intense emotions. In Chappie, the police are all…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jan 9

The 10 Types of Fictional Apocalypses (And What They Mean)

The Apocalypse rules pop culture. Half the biggest literary novels these days are apocalyptic, and meanwhile The Walking Dead is a huge hit. Post-apocalyptic stories are what space opera was in the Space Age. But what are they about? Here are 10 types of apocalypses, and what they each signify. Before we get started, a…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 7

killer robots

UK Defense Chief Says Army Could Have 30,000 Robots by the 2030s

Artificially Intelligent Drones Become Terrifying Killing Machines in Dystopian Short Film

116 Experts From 26 Countries Ask UN to Ban Fully Autonomous Weapons Systems

The Killer Robots Were Totally Professional on the Set of Cult Movie Chopping Mall

Gale Ann Hurd Hints at the One Thing That Could Save the Terminator Movies

Killer Robots Go on a Mysterious Rampage in the First Trailer for Kill Command

The Books About Artificial Intelligence That You MUST Read, According to Ex Machina‘s Alex Garland

Musk’s Plan to Save the World From Advanced AI: Develop Advanced AI

Brand New Terminator Concept Art Shows How Skynet Will Destroy Your City

Here’s A Book That Adds a Fascinating New Dimension to Posthuman Space Opera

We Should Not Dismiss the Dangers of “Killer Robots” So Quickly

How Ex Machina‘s Director Wants To Film VanderMeer’s Crazy Annihilation

Design Secrets of Ex Machina, This Year’s Boldest Science Fiction Movie

This Is Just Some Of The Most Eye-Popping Terminator Art We’ve Ever Seen

Arnold Somehow Saves Terminator Genisys From Being A Total Disaster

Meanwhile in the Future: What If We Banned All Weapons?

The UN Will Debate Whether to Ban Killer Robots

Rumor: Naked Arnie Will Look “Like A Ken Doll” In Terminator Genisys

This Trailer For Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie Gets Us Right In The Feels

The 10 Types of Fictional Apocalypses (And What They Mean)

Wearables Are Getting Very Messy

Trump Wants to Start Privatizing TSA in Latest Budget Proposal

Lost Warship From Battle of Copenhagen Found After 225 Years

These One-of-a-Kind Objects Are in the Wrong Museums

Two Songs We Really Wish Were the Anime Outros for ‘Steel Ball Run’

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

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