There's a worldwide arms race to develop killer robots, but it's not like arms races in the past. This time it's not just nations but the private sector working to develop killer artificial intelligence.
Dr. Larry Lewis is director of the Center for Autonomy and AI. He says it may be closer than you think.
"I'd say in the next year or two; some could argue we're just starting to see it now."
But Dr. Lewis says we're not talking about Terminators just yet. He says it starts with drones and robots developed to help soldiers on the battlefield.
"We need to be thinking about this now; so if we don't think about how to address the challenges and how to leverage the strengths until they get here it's going to be too late."
Dr. Lewis says if private companies win the race to make Terminators, they might just sell them to the highest bidder.
"We're in a unique place in history and a new kind of arms race; we've had arms races before, country versus country, today we have the commercial sector making these incredible advances in Artificial Intelligence -- AI."
Dr. Lewis says he's trying to get the discussion going at the appropriate government agencies.