BRUSSELS: The unstoppable rise of robots in our everyday lives requires urgent EU rules such as “kill switches”, European Parliament members warned on Thursday as they passed a resolution urging Brussels into action on automaton ethics.

Mady Delvaux, a Socialist MEP from Luxembourg, led the campaign and warned that Europe is passively standing by as robots take an increasingly powerful role that will grow even stronger with the emergence of driverless cars.

Once passed, Delvaux’s resolution could force the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to begin work on laws that deal with these issues head-on.

“A growing number of areas of our daily lives are increasingly affected by robotics,” Delvaux said after a committee vote on her measure. “In order ... to ensure that robots are and will remain in the service of humans, we urgently need to create a robust European legal framework,” she said.

Her report is a broad overview on how robots are creeping into the lives of humans and what the EU can do to stay in control. Its recommendations are wide-ranging, including the kill switch allowing humans to shut down a robot at the smallest sign of danger.

Without such rules, “humanity could face the apocalyptic scenario where robots turn on their human masters,” Delvaux warned in an interview with EU affairs website EurActiv.

Delavaux also warned that robots cannot be your friend, no matter how emotionally involving they may become.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2017