UAE ambassador to the UN Lana Nusseibeh warned on Monday of swarms of assassin drones being sent out in cross-border raids, as groups such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels incorporate ever-deadlier smart weapons into their arsenals.
Ms Nusseibeh urged Security Council members to crack down on the spread of artificial intelligence systems and drones before we enter a “dystopian future” of terrorists sending out killer robots.
Al Qaeda, ISIS and other extremist groups radicalise and recruit via the internet, while the Houthi militia fighting Yemen’s government has used increasingly advanced weapons to attack its neighbours, she said.
World's biggest drones – in pictures
“In the near future, it will be possible that swarms of drones, utilised by terrorist groups, could carry out cross-border attacks, using facial technology and other features enabled by artificial intelligence,” said Ms Nusseibeh.
Worse still, stealth weapons from the “nefarious side of technology” could carry out flying assassinations “without the possibility of attribution to either a state- or non-state group”, she added.
She pointed to Yemen’s Houthis militia, which has used Iran-supplied drone gear to launch sophisticated attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“Drones do not just operate in the air,” she said, referring to a “remotely operated drone boat, laden with explosives” used by the Houthis in a failed attack on an oil tanker off Yemen’s coast in March 2020.
“If successful, the attack would have had devastating effects not only on the tanker and its crew, but on the environment, on global supply routes and on local communities,” said Ms Nusseibeh.
The UAE envoy said killer weapons were evolving at “warp speed”, with drones that “fly faster, travel further, carry larger payloads” and use facial recognition and other tools.
“We're in this Hobbesian state of nature regarding the use of technology by super-empowered, non-state actors,” Ms Nusseibeh told diplomats in New York.
“Inaction is not an option. Because when there is no regulation, we’re only encouraging proliferation.”
Council members met against a backdrop of growing global concern over new technologies in war zones, amid Russian claims that it has used powerful lasers in its war with Ukraine and with both sides in the conflict admitting to routinely using drones.
The US-based campaign group Human Rights Watch says China, Israel, South Korea, Russia, Britain and the US are already developing technology that could give rise to fully autonomous weapons.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the UN ambassador for the US, which holds the council’s rotating presidency for the month of May, said authoritarian governments are using technology to suppress “freedom of expression and spread disinformation”.
“The Russian government continues to shut down, restrict, and degrade internet connectivity, censor content, spread disinformation online and intimidate and arrest journalists for reporting the truth about its invasion” of Ukraine, said Ms Thomas-Greenfield.
“These practices are as wrong as they are widespread.”
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
Company%20profile
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Racecard
6.35pm: American Business Council – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm: British Business Group – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: CCI France UAE – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
8.20pm: Czech Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,400m
8.55pm: Netherlands Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Indian Business and Professional Council – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
Racecard
5.25pm: Etihad Museum – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m
6pm: Al Shindaga Museum – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
6.35pm: Poet Al Oqaili – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
7.10pm: Majlis Ghurfat Al Sheif – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
7.45pm: Hatta – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Fahidi – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.55pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Coins Museum – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
10.05pm: Al Quoz Creative – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The%20Mother%20
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
WWE Super ShowDown results
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship
Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns
Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
Randy Orton beats Triple H
Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley
Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal
The Undertaker beat Goldberg
Company%20profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The%C2%A0specs%20
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More coverage from the Future Forum
Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
TICKETS
For tickets for the two-day Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) event, entitled Dubai Invasion 2019, on September 27 and 28 go to www.meraticket.com.
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor