Robot Soldiers May Arrive in Armies 'Soon,' US Lawmakers Say

The "Terminator" series of films tells the story of a group of human resistance fighters desperately trying to outsmart robot soldiers that engulfed the world in a deadly war that proved fatal to humans. If lawmakers in the U.S. are to be believed, then robot soldiers may be arriving soon.

This is courtesy of a meeting between House members of the U.S. which elaborated on the concept of the possibility of artificial intelligence and robots being used to conduct military operations -- something that appears to be quite possible very soon.

According to The Hill, Jason Healey of the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative told members of a House panel that robot soldiers are very much possible within the next decade.

Mike Conaway of Texas asked the panel of experts about the possibility that AI will be used to defend various parts of the country outside its usual tasks of protecting networks. Healey answered that it might actually be very soon.

Peter Singer of the New America Foundation also elaborated that AI is just among some potential "disruptions" that is being developed in the field of cyber conflict.

According to the New York Post, Singer added that it is not a matter of "if" but "when" this is going to happen. He adds that a more important question is if these robot soldiers will be used on the offensive or the defensive. Healey stressed that "adversaries" of the country may use AI technology to augment their offensive capabilities far more than the U.S. can upgrade its defenses.

He added that technology -- such as analytics, automation and new heuristics -- can help other countries with their offensive weapons. However, in order to build suitable defenses to such potential damages, one will need their own supercomputer.

Healey said that while the Pentagon can afford systems necessary to defend against such adversaries, other small-to-medium-sized enterprises in the U.S. cannot do that. Mac Thornberry from Texas also said that while this technology might be developed soon, the government may not have good-enough policies to ensure they are able to protect the country.

Interestingly, this provides proof that lawmakers are in fact paying more attention to the potential vulnerabilities of government systems from cyber attacks, including situations such as the Russian government supposedly hacking the Democratic National Committee and other incidents related to Chinese hackers.