Tech · killer robots · ArchiveUN chief demands ban on 'killer robots' as 166 nations back treaty negotiationsAired July 7, 2026 at 4:28 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00All week, we have been showing you what0:02drones can do on a modern battlefield.0:05Today at the United Nations,0:07>> [music]0:07>> the Secretary-General looked at that0:09same technology and said the world has0:11to draw a line before machines start0:13making the decision to kill on their0:15own.0:16Speaking at the inaugural UN Global0:18Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva,0:21Antonio Guterres used a term diplomats0:23usually avoid, killer [music] robots.0:26Guterres put the full moral weight of0:29his office behind a binding0:31international treaty.0:34He [music] said some decisions, above0:36all the taking of human life, must0:38remain forever human.0:40And he warned the door is still open,0:42[music] but it will not stay open long.0:45Here is why the urgency.0:48The technology is already out of the0:50lab. Four nations [music] with0:53operational or near-operational0:55autonomous weapons.0:57The genie is not in the bottle, it is in0:59[music] the fleet. The diplomatic1:01machinery has been grinding under the UN1:03Convention on Certain Conventional1:05Weapons, the same treaty that banned1:08blinding lasers and land mines.1:10>> [music]1:10>> In December, a General Assembly1:13resolution passed with 166 votes in1:16favor. Only three countries, Russia,1:19Belarus, and North Korea, voted no.1:22More than 70 states now support moving1:24from talk [music] to binding treaty1:26negotiations.1:27But the process is fragile because the1:29convention operates by consensus.1:31[music]1:32Any single country can block progress.1:35The negotiations are centered here in1:37Geneva, where Guterres [music]1:38delivered his appeal today. And that1:41consensus rule is being exploited1:43[music] three military powers, each with1:46a different reason to slow walk a ban.1:48>> [music]1:50>> The group of governmental experts wraps1:53up its mandate the first week of1:54September.1:56The critical review conference follows1:57in November 2026.2:00The window for [music] launching formal2:02treaty talks is measured in months, not2:04years.2:05The International Committee of the Red2:07Cross has backed Guterres since their2:09joint appeal in 2023.2:12The Stop [music] Killer Robots2:13Coalition, roughly 300 organizations2:16worldwide, welcomed his remarks. Human2:18[music] Rights Watch urged governments2:20to start negotiations without delay.2:24What Guterres did today was not just2:26deliver a speech.2:28>> [music]2:28>> He framed this as a hinge moment,2:30warning that we may be the last2:31generation able to set the terms on2:33[music] which humanity and machines2:35coexist. The question now, whether the2:38November review conference produces a2:40mandate to negotiate, or whether the2:42moment passes and the [music] machines2:44get there first.Explore with HeyDex