The US Navy says it’s doing its best to avoid a ‘Terminator’ scenario in quest for autonomous...

The U.S. Navy will try to prevent Skynet — the fictional intelligence computer network that attempts to destroy humanity in the “Terminator” series — from becoming a reality as it continues efforts to field evermore capable robots, a Navy official said Monday.

As the service works to build autonomous capabilities, trust is an ever-present concern for those charged with testing and evaluating the safety of the systems they are developing, said Steve Olsen, deputy branch head of the Navy’s mine warfare office. But the developers are keenly aware that overly trusting weapons systems can present serious dangers.

“Trust is something that is difficult to come by with a computer, especially as we start working with our test and evaluation community,” Olsen said. “I’ve worked with our test and evaluation director, and a lot of times it’s: ‘Hey, what’s that thing going to do?’ And I say: 'I don’t know, it’s going to pick the best path.’