{
  "id": 5040608,
  "title": "The world banned landmines and cluster munitions. Can it stop killer AI before it is too late?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/the-world-banned-landmines-and-cluster-munitions-can-it-stop-killer",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-02T07:13:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Middle East Eye",
    "slug": "middle-east-eye",
    "url": "https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/world-banned-landmines-and-cluster-munitions-can-it-stop-killer-ai-it-too-late"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The world has banned landmines and cluster munitions, raising the question of whether it can prevent the development and deployment of killer AI before it becomes too late. Campaigners are racing to rein in systems \"designed to kill,\" as autonomous weapons lower the threshold for war and increase civilian harm.\n\nAutonomous weapons systems threaten to remove any meaningful human control over the use of force in conflict, as AI-assisted targeting was first deployed by Israel in its war on Gaza and then in Iran. Over 1,000 strikes were carried out in the first 24 hours of the US-Israeli war, suggesting the use of automated systems.\n\nThe Stop Killer Robots coalition has been fighting for over 13 years to prevent this future, pushing governments towards a ban on machines capable of selecting and engaging targets without oversight. Nicole van Rooijen, executive director of Stop Killer Robots, stated that these systems are designed to kill and lack checks and balances. She cited the US air strike on a primary school in Iran, where 156 people, including 120 children, were killed, as an example of the devastating consequences of inaccurate targeting.\n\nPreliminary information suggests the strike was due to outdated intelligence fed into the machine. Van Rooijen emphasized that false promises of increased accuracy only lead to worse outcomes for civilians. The reliability of AI in military kill chains is estimated at between 25 and 50 percent, with the best-case scenario being carpet bombing.\n\nAnother major issue is the lack of agreed-upon definitions and regulations for autonomous weapons systems. There is no treaty governing their development, testing, sale, or deployment, leading to a \"free for all\" arms race for tech giants to profit from the misery of people. Nicole van Rooijen criticized the absence of protections, stating that machines cannot truly understand the value of human life.\n\nBonnie Docherty, senior arms advisor at Human Rights Watch (HRW), echoed this concern, noting that giving machines the power to kill is ethically inappropriate. She argues that the fight over autonomous weapons systems follows the same principles of humanitarian disarmament, seeking to prevent arms-inflicted human suffering. Docherty emphasized that individuals should be responsible for understanding the significance of taking a life, rather than delegating those decisions to machines.",
  "summary": "The world banned landmines and cluster munitions. Can it stop killer AI before it is too late? Submitted by Gergana Krasteva on Wed, 09/02/2026 - 08:13 Campaigners race to rein in systems ‘designed to kill’, as autonomous weapons lower the threshold for war and increase civilian harm A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital Tehran, on 3 March 2026 (Atta Kenare/AFP) Off…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}