AI could soon start ordering assassinations

British tech boffin Stuart Russell has stressed the need for a global treaty to regulate the powerful technology before it reaches a point where it can no longer be controlled.

Russell suggested that nothing is stopping artificial intelligence from taking out a contract to have someone killed once it gets financial independence.

He said: "Already, AI is like the Wild West. People are equipping it with a credit card and a social media account."

Russell - a professor of computer science at the University of California - said a "kill switch" must be written into AI software to save the human race from disaster.

He also implored governments to introduce rules forcing AI developers to block the technology from impersonating human beings.

For feedback: contact the Editorial Department at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.