Killer robots are here

AI-powered killer robots are a reality [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. The rise of artificially-intelligent machines hit a speed bump this week when civilian and military officials warned about the dangers posed by killer robots devoid of human control. Amid the AI buzz and big-power conflicts focusing investor attention on defense technologies, the meeting in Vienna was convened to give voice to those who are alarmed by the prospect of applying Silicon Valley-style disruption to industrial warfare. Autonomous-weapons systems are already proliferating on the battlefields of Ukraine and Gaza. Using a combination of big data and drones, they help military planners to select targets. Some loitering munitions can be programmed to strike without a human pulling the trigger. That trend toward outsourcing life-and-death decisions to machines has opened a Pandora’s Box of ethical, legal and technological questions. Representatives of some 140 countries convened at the [Humanity at the Crossroads]( conference to consider the rules needed to protect humanity from the new generation of AI-enabled robots. Some want to begin drafting a new treaty, modeled along the lines of others prohibiting chemical or nuclear weapons; others suggested trade controls and humanitarian laws already on the books are sufficient. Almost everybody acknowledged the need for human accountability. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg referenced J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb in 1945, and said that as he witnessed the first nuclear test he thought of a piece of Hindu scripture: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” With autonomous weapons systems already being deployed, military strategist Frank Sauer said the time for testing is over; we are now living in a “Hiroshima moment.” A favorite theme in science fiction films such as Terminator is a world of humans fighting killer robots. Now it’s a battlefield reality. — [Jonathan Tirone]( Ukrainian soldiers defending against drone attacks on Kyiv in December. Photographer: Pete Kiehart/Redux Global Must Reads The world is waiting to hear if Hamas will accept what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described as [“extraordinarily generous” proposals]( made by Israel during talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by the militant group. The US diplomat is on his seventh trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in early October to push for at least a pause in hostilities under a temporary cease-fire agreement. The US drive to ban TikTok ups the ante with Beijing while taking a page out of China’s playbook, viewing the potential misuse of data as a national-security threat, in a move that is [reshaping trade relations]( between the world’s biggest economies. Although Beijing has long adopted far more restrictions on US companies, authorities have embraced firms, such as Elon Musk’s Tesla, that play by its rules and agree to store data locally. The European Union has poured about €515 billion ($548 billion) into eastern Europe’s eight [former communist]( nations, as well as Malta and Cyprus, since they became members on May 1, 2004, according to Bloomberg calculations. Yet, taken together, more people in those countries back political groups opposed to the EU’s stance on everything from migration and LGBTQ rights to policies aimed at tackling climate change than ever before. After taking a timeout to consider his future, Pedro Sanchez made Spaniards wait almost a week to find out if they were heading for fresh elections, whether there would be a new prime minister from his Socialist group or perhaps some other surprise. To justify his extraordinary move, prompted by a legal probe into his wife Sanchez asserted was part of a right-wing plot, he said he was [looking for a response]( from citizens as part of a bid to regenerate Spanish democracy. The Philippines said three Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannons at two of its vessels in the South China Sea. Tensions in the disputed area [have escalated in recent months]( between Manila and Beijing, which claims nearly the entire waterway, including areas the Philippines says are part of its exclusive economic zone. Russia is planning to target Moldova with a wave of [“hybrid” attacks]( in the run-up to its presidential election and referendum on joining the EU later this year, sources familiar with UK intelligence assessments say. A party backed by former South African President Jacob Zuma plans to raise additional state revenue by [increasing capital gains]( and inheritance taxes if it wins office in May 29 elections. A better-than-expected performance by all four of the euro zone’s largest economies [suggests a recovery]( is taking hold after a mild recession last year. Washington Dispatch The White House is [bolstering]( President Joe Biden’s economic team before an election in November that may well be decided by voters’ concerns about persistent inflation and their living standards. That’s despite Biden continuing to champion sweeping legislation that provided extensive investments in clean energy, infrastructure projects and domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The president remains slightly behind or tied with his predecessor, Donald Trump, in most surveys. A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of registered voters in seven swing states, published last week, found that 70% of respondents say the US economy is on the wrong track. Rob Friedlander will serve as chief of staff to the National Economic Council, led by former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard, while White House spokesman Michael Kikukawa will succeed Friedlander as senior communications adviser for economic messaging, a White House official said. Biden has been focusing his economic message on costs and efforts to lower them. Trump, in rallies planned for Wisconsin and Michigan this week, will be sure to argue that those efforts have failed. One thing to watch today: Federal Reserve policymakers begin two days of meetings, with Chair Jerome Powell seen making a hawkish pivot due to hot inflation data. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day China’s exports of batteries, electric cars and solar panels hit record highs last year, underlining its dominance of [key green industries]( and driving a global price slump that’s adding to alarm in developed economies. Overseas sales of those three products — identified by Beijing as vital for future economic growth — surged above $150 billion last year, an increase of more than a fifth, Australia’s Griffith Asia Institute says in a report. And Finally US universities from Columbia to UCLA are rushing to confront demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza, with disciplinary actions escalating and campus life thrown into turmoil as the academic year comes to a close. At Columbia in New York, dozens of students entered a building known as Hamilton Hall after midnight and [barricaded themselves inside](, piling tables and chairs to block doors and covering security cameras, the university’s student newspaper reported. Tensions were already high after the school earlier began suspending students who refused to leave a pro-Palestinian encampment. WATCH: Pro-Palestinian student protesters at Columbia University. 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