{{about|a video|the type of robot|lethal autonomous weapon}} {{use dmy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Slaughterbots | image = Slaughterbots_low-quality_cropped_screen_capture_@00.01.05.jpg | alt = Fictional CEO demonstrates microdrone | director = Stewart Sugg | producer = Matt Nelson | writer = Matt Wood | screenplay = <!-- Not sure, maybe Space Digital per https://thebulletin.org/%E2%80%9C-much-death-you-want%E2%80%9D-uc-berkeleys-stuart-russell-%E2%80%9Cslaughterbots%E2%80%9D11328 --> | narrator = Stuart Russell | studio = Space Digital | released = {{film date|df=yes|2017|11|12}} | runtime = 8 minutes | language = English }}
'''''Slaughterbots''''' is a 2017 arms-control advocacy video presenting a dramatized near-future scenario where swarms of inexpensive microdrones use artificial intelligence and facial recognition software to assassinate political opponents based on preprogrammed criteria. It was released by the Future of Life Institute and Stuart Russell, a professor of computer science at Berkeley.<ref name=economist/> On YouTube, the video quickly went viral, garnering over two million views<ref name=scharre>{{cite news|last1=Scharre|first1=Paul|title=Why You Shouldn't Fear 'Slaughterbots'|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/why-you-shouldnt-fear-slaughterbots|access-date=21 January 2018|work=IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News|date=22 December 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Slaughterbots|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CO6M2HsoIA|website=YouTube|accessdate=21 January 2018|date=12 November 2017}}</ref> and was screened at the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons meeting in Geneva the same month.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ting|first=Eric|title=UC Berkeley professor's eerie lethal drone video goes viral|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/UC-Berkeley-killer-robots-artificial-intelligence-12368152.php|date=18 November 2017|accessdate=21 January 2018|work=SFGate}}</ref>
The film's implication that swarms of such "slaughterbots" — miniature, flying lethal autonomous weapons — could become real weapons of mass destruction in the near future proved controversial.<ref name=scharre>{{cite news|last1=Scharre|first1=Paul|title=Why You Shouldn't Fear 'Slaughterbots'|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/why-you-shouldnt-fear-slaughterbots|access-date=21 January 2018|work=IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News|date=22 December 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name=Russell2018>Russell, Stuart; Aguirre, Anthony; Conn, Ariel; and Tegmark, Max (23 January 2018).[https://spectrum.ieee.org/why-you-should-fear-slaughterbots-a-response Why You Should Fear 'Slaughterbots' — A Response] ''IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News''. Retrieved 8 April 2023.</ref><ref>Scharre, Paul (1 February 2018). [https://spectrum.ieee.org/debating-slaughterbots Debating Slaughterbots and the Future of Autonomous Weapons] ''IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News''. Retrieved 8 April 2023.</ref>
A sequel, ''Slaughterbots – if human: kill()''<!-- FLI uses an n-dash at https://web.archive.org/web/20211228192114/https://futureoflife.org/ --> (2021), presented additional hypothetical scenarios of attacks on civilians, and again called on the UN to ban autonomous weapons that target people.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Knight |first1=Will |title=Autonomous Weapons Are Here, but the World Isn't Ready for Them |url=https://www.wired.com/story/autonomous-weapons-here-world-isnt-ready/ |access-date=31 December 2021 |magazine=Wired |date=2021}}</ref>
==Synopsis== thumb|right|Students attempt to flee lethal microdrones. The dramatization, seven minutes in length, is set in a ''Black Mirror''-style near future.<ref>{{cite news|last=Oberhaus|first=Daniel|title=Watch 'Slaughterbots,' A Warning About the Future of Killer Bots|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/slaughterbots-autonomous-weapons-future-of-life/|access-date=21 January 2018|work=Motherboard (Vice Media)|date=13 November 2017|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dvorsky|first1=George|title=Artificially Intelligent Drones Become Terrifying Killing Machines in Dystopian Short Film|url=https://gizmodo.com/artificially-intelligent-drones-become-terrifying-killi-1820392537|accessdate=21 January 2018|work=Gizmodo}}</ref> Palm-sized autonomous drones using facial recognition and shaped explosives can be programmed to seek out and eliminate known individuals or classes of individuals (such as individuals wearing an enemy military uniform). A tech executive pitches that nuclear weapons are now "obsolete": a $25 million order of "unstoppable" drones can kill half a city. As the video unfolds, the technology is re-purposed by unknown parties to assassinate political opponents, from sitting congressmen to student activists identified via their Facebook profiles. In one scene, the swarming drones coordinate with each other to gain entrance to a building: a larger drone blasts a hole in a wall to give access to smaller ones.<ref name=economist/><ref name=guardian/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Mikelionis|first1=Lukas|title=UC Berkeley professor's 'slaughterbots' video on killer drones goes viral|url=https://www.foxnews.com/tech/uc-berkeley-professors-slaughterbots-video-on-killer-drones-goes-viral/|access-date=21 January 2018|work=Fox News|date=21 November 2017}}</ref>
The dramatization is followed by a forty-second entreaty by Russell: "This short film is more than just speculation; it shows the results of integrating and miniaturizing technologies that we already have{{nbsp}}... AI's potential to benefit humanity is enormous, even in defense, but allowing machines to choose to kill humans will be devastating to our security and freedom."<ref name=guardian/><ref>{{cite news|last=May|first=Patrick|title=Watch out for 'killer robots,' UC Berkeley professor warns in video|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/20/watch-out-for-killer-robots-uc-berkeley-professor-warns-in-video/|accessdate=21 January 2018|work=The Mercury News|date=20 November 2017}}</ref>
==Production== According to Russell, "What we were trying to show was the property of autonomous weapons to turn into weapons of mass destruction automatically because you can launch as many as you want... and so we thought a video would make it very clear." Russell also expressed a desire to displace the unrealistic and unhelpful Hollywood ''Terminator'' conception of autonomous weapons with something more realistic.<ref name=bulletin>{{cite news|title="As much death as you want": UC Berkeley's Stuart Russell on "Slaughterbots"|url=https://thebulletin.org/%E2%80%9C-much-death-you-want%E2%80%9D-uc-berkeleys-stuart-russell-%E2%80%9Cslaughterbots%E2%80%9D11328|accessdate=21 January 2018|work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|date=5 December 2017|language=en}}</ref> The video was produced by Space Digital at MediaCityUK and directed by Stewart Sugg with location shots at Hertfordshire University<ref>{{cite web|title=Film produced by Hertfordshire University staff and students goes viral|url=http://www.herts.ac.uk/about-us/news/2017/november/film-produced-by-hertfordshire-university-staff-and-students-goes-viral|website=Hertfordshire University|accessdate=21 January 2018|language=en|date=28 November 2017}}</ref> and in Edinburgh. Edinburgh was chosen because the filmmakers "needed streets that would be empty on a Sunday morning" for the shots of armed police patrolling deserted streets, and because the location is recognizable to international audiences.<ref>{{cite news|title=Edinburgh used for 'killer drone' film|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-42063742|accessdate=21 January 2018|work=BBC News|date=21 November 2017}}</ref> All of the drones were added in post-production.<ref name=bulletin/><ref>{{cite news|title=Killer drone attacks filmed in Edinburgh to highlight artificial intelligence fears|url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/killer-drone-attacks-filmed-in-edinburgh-to-highlight-artificial-intelligence-fears-1-4618828|accessdate=21 January 2018|work=The Scotsman|date=21 November 2017|language=en}}</ref>
==Reception== ===Technical feasibility=== In December 2017 ''The Economist'' assessed the feasibility of ''Slaughterbots'' in relation to the U.S. MAST and DCIST microdrone programs. MAST currently has a cyclocopter that weighs less than {{convert|30|g}}, but that has the downside of being easily disturbed by its own reflected turbulence when too close to a wall. Another candidate is something like Salto, a {{convert|98|g|adj=on}} hopping robot, which performs better than cyclocopters in confined spaces. The level of autonomous inter-drone coordination shown in ''Slaughterbots'' was not available as of 2017, but drone swarm technology is advancing and is now being used for aerial displays, demining and logistics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=The Robot Report |date=2025-08-03 |title=Drone swarms: How they actually work and what industries should care |url=https://www.therobotreport.com/drone-swarms-how-they-actually-work-and-what-industries-should-care/ |access-date=2026-03-12 |website=The Robot Report |language=en-US}}</ref> Overall, ''The Economist'' agreed that "slaughterbots" may become feasible in the foreseeable future: "In 2008, a spy drone that you could hold in the palm of your hand was an idea from science fiction. Such drones are now commonplace{{nbsp}}... When DCIST wraps up in 2022, the idea of Slaughterbots may seem a lot less fictional than it does now." ''The Economist'' is skeptical that arms control could prevent such a militarization of drone swarms: "As someone said of nuclear weapons after the first one was detonated, the only secret worth keeping is now out: the damn things work".<ref name=economist/>
In April 2018 the governmental ''Swiss Drones and Robotics Centre'', referencing ''Slaughterbots'', tested a {{convert|3|g|adj=on}} shaped charge on a head model and concluded that "injuries are so severe that the chances of survival are very small".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ar.admin.ch/en/armasuisse-wissenschaft-und-technologie-w-t/home.detail.news.html/ar-internet/news-2018/news-w-t/lethalmicrodrones.html|title=Fake news? Lethal effect of micro drones|website=www.ar.admin.ch|language=en|access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/einstein/video/einstein-bei-den-robotern?id=1a6ac0d4-4825-4c88-b53a-1c3e667b7fbd&startTime=1841&station=69e8ac16-4327-4af4-b873-fd5cd6e895a7|title="Einstein" bei den Robotern - TV - Play SRF|website=Play SRF|language=de|access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref>
{{asof|2020}}, DARPA was actively working on pre-operational prototypes that would make swarms of autonomous lethal drones available to the US military.<ref>{{cite web|last=McMillan|first=Tim|url=https://thedebrief.org/darpa-dream-of-a-tiny-robot-army-is-close-to-becoming-a-reality/|title=DARPA's Dream of a Tiny Robot Army is Close to Becoming a Reality|date=1 December 2020|website=thedebrief.org}}</ref>
===Threat plausibility=== In December 2017, Paul Scharre of the Center for a New American Security disputed the feasibility of the video's scenario, stating that "Every military technology has a countermeasure, and countermeasures against small drones aren't even hypothetical. The U.S. government is actively working on ways to shoot down, jam, fry, hack, ensnare, or otherwise defeat small drones. The microdrones in the video could be defeated by something as simple as chicken wire. The video shows heavier-payload drones blasting holes through walls so that other drones can get inside, but the solution is simply layered defenses." Scharre also stated that Russell's implied proposal, a legally binding treaty banning autonomous weapons, "won't solve the real problems humanity faces as autonomy advances in weapons. A ban won't stop terrorists from fashioning crude DIY robotic weapons{{nbsp}}... In fact, it's not even clear whether a ban would prohibit the weapons shown in the video, which are actually fairly discriminate."<ref name=scharre/>
In January 2018, Stuart Russell and three other authors responded to Scharre in detail. Their disagreement centered primarily on the question of whether "slaughterbots", as presented in the video, were "potentially scalable weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)". They concluded that "We, and many other experts, continue to find plausible the view that autonomous weapons can become scalable weapons of mass destruction. Scharre's claim that a ban will be ineffective or counterproductive is inconsistent with the historical record. Finally, the idea that human security will be enhanced by an unregulated arms race in autonomous weapons is, at best, wishful thinking."<ref name=Russell2018/>
===Cultural reception=== Matt McFarland of CNN opined that "Perhaps the most nightmarish, dystopian film of 2017 didn't come from Hollywood". McFarland also stated that the debate over banning killer robots had taken a "sensationalistic" turn: In 2015, "they relied on open letters and petitions with academic language", and used dry language like "armed quadcopters". Now, in 2017, "they are warning of 'slaughterbots{{'"}}.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McFarland|first1=Matt|title='Slaughterbots' film shows potential horrors of killer drones|url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/14/technology/autonomous-weapons-ban-ai/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114214913/http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/14/technology/autonomous-weapons-ban-ai/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 November 2017|accessdate=21 January 2018|work=CNNMoney|date=14 November 2017}}</ref>
Andrew Yang linked to ''Slaughterbots'' from a tweet during his 2020 U.S. Presidential primary candidacy.<ref>{{cite news |title=Andrew Yang calls for global ban on killer robots |url=https://nypost.com/2020/02/01/andrew-yang-calls-for-global-ban-on-killer-robots/ |access-date=31 December 2021 |work=New York Post |date=1 February 2020}}</ref>
The sequel video, published 30 November 2021, had over two million views on YouTube by 8 December.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mizokami |first1=Kyle |title=A New Video Explains, in Graphic Terms, Why the United Nations Must Ban 'Slaughterbots' |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a38413837/un-ban-autonomous-drone-swarms/ |access-date=31 December 2021 |work=Popular Mechanics |date=8 December 2021}}</ref>
==See also== * {{annotated link|2024 Lebanon electronic device attacks}} * {{annotated link|Hated in the Nation|quote=yes}} * {{annotated link|Lethal autonomous weapon}}
==References== <references>
<ref name=guardian>{{citation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/nov/13/ban-on-killer-robots-urgently-needed-say-scientists |title=Ban on killer robots urgently needed, say scientists |author=Ian Sample |date=13 November 2017 |accessdate=21 January 2018| newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>
<ref name=economist>{{citation |url=https://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21732507-soon-they-will-travel-swarms-military-robots-are-getting-smaller-and-more |newspaper=The Economist |date=14 December 2017 | accessdate=21 January 2018 | title=Military robots are getting smaller and more capable}}</ref>
</references>
==External links== *''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CO6M2HsoIA Slaughterbots]'' (2017) on YouTube *[https://spectrum.ieee.org/why-you-shouldnt-fear-slaughterbots Why You Shouldn't Fear 'Slaughterbots'] (Scharre, 2017) **[https://spectrum.ieee.org/why-you-should-fear-slaughterbots-a-response Why You Should Fear 'Slaughterbots' — A Response] (Russell, et al, 2018) **[https://spectrum.ieee.org/debating-slaughterbots Debating Slaughterbots and the Future of Autonomous Weapons] (Scharre, 2018) *''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rDo1QxI260 Slaughterbots – if human: kill()]'' (2021) on YouTube
Category:2017 films Category:Films about drones Category:American dystopian films Category:Viral videos Category:2017 English-language films Category:2017 in artificial intelligence