Definition: autonomous weapon

An unmanned robotic foot soldier, tank or drone that is capable of making decisions on its own. Unlike the drones in use today, emerging autonomous weapons choose their targets without human intervention. In 2015, 1,000 technology professionals along with Stephen Hawking (theoretical physicist and author), Steve Wozniak (Apple co-founder) and Elon Musk (Tesla and Space-X) called for a worldwide ban on autonomous weapons, contending they will make war easier to start and become a threat to humanity.