BRUSSELS: From the risk of mass unemployment to the deployment of autonomous robotics by criminal organisations or rogue states, the new Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics has been set the goal of second-guessing the possible threats.

It is estimated that 30 percent of jobs in Britain are potentially under threat from breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, according to the firm PwC.

In some sectors half the jobs could go.

A recent study by the International Bar Assoc­iation claimed robotics could force governments to legislate for quotas of human workers.

Meanwhile, nations seeking to develop autonomous weapons technology, with the capability to independently determine their courses of action without the need for human control, include the US, China, Russia and Israel.

Irakli Beridze, an adviser at the United Nations, said the new team based in the Netherlands would also seek to come up with ideas as to how advances in the field could be exploited to help achieve UN’s targets.

“If societies do not adapt quickly enough, this can cause instability,” Beridze told a Dutch newspaper. “One of our most important tasks is to set up a network of experts. We will also explore how new technology can contribute to the sustainable development goals of the UN.”

—By arrangement with the Guardian

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2017