Drones have shaped the Ukraine war. Are ‘killer robots’ far off?
As autonomous weapons play a crucial role on the battlefield, so-called ‘killer robots’ loom on the horizon.

In Russia’s war in Ukraine, the use of drones – for surveillance, correcting artillery fire and dropping weapons on the enemy – has become increasingly important, especially for the Ukrainian army.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsThe UK’s winter of strikes and discontent
What four unique communities say about our world
Artificial intelligence: friend or foe?
The drones used so far are believed to have all been controlled by humans but experts say the technology for fully autonomous weapons exists. Are so-called ‘killer robots’ that take to the battlefield inevitable?
In this episode:
- Alex Gatopoulos (@AlexGatopoulos), Al Jazeera’s defence editor
- Toby Walsh (@TobyWalsh), professor of artificial intelligence, University of New South Wales
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra with Chloe K. Li and our host, Halla Mohieddeen. Amy Walters, Alexandra Locke and Chloe K. Li fact-checked this episode. Our production team also includes Negin Owliaei and Amy Walters.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
Connect with us: