James Cameron Warns A “Terminator-Style Apocalypse” Could Happen With Military Application Of AI For Weapons Systems

James Cameron has been at the forefront of warning the general public of the dangers of the military applications concerning artificial intelligence, as the “Terminator” movies cover a global nuclear holocaust executed by Skynet (the machines trying to eradicate the human population).

Speaking with Rolling Stone Magazine to promote the recent release of the non-fiction WWII book “Ghosts of Hiroshima” (which he’s turning into a dramatic movie) by pal Charles Pellegrino, Cameron believes that we’re inching ever closer to the real-life Skynet threat as AI is currently being applied to all sorts of military uses, such as drones, video/digital surveillance, intelligence gathering, weapons systems, and even early attempts at robotics (some being able to wield traditional weapons like firearms).

READ MORE: James Cameron Struggling To Write New ‘Terminator’ Story: “I Don’t Know What To Say That Won’t Be Overtaken By Real Events”

“I do think there’s still a danger of a Terminator-style apocalypse where you put AI together with weapons systems, even up to the level of nuclear weapon systems, nuclear defense counterstrike, all that stuff,” the Oscar-winning filmmaker told Rolling Stone in an interview from this month when talking about the dangers of AI. “The theater of operations is so rapid, the decision windows are so fast, it would take a superintelligence to be able to process it. And maybe we’ll be smart and keep a human in the loop. But humans are fallible, and there have been a lot of mistakes made that have put us right on the brink of international incidents that could have led to nuclear war.”

Also, Cameron had recently claimed that he’s been having a tough time cracking a store for his mysterious new “Terminator” project after citing that the modern era of technology is catching up to his sci-fi premise, making it harder to tell an entertaining story that doesn’t mirror our horrific reality.

All this said, Cameron has oddly promoted the use of AI in filmmaking, which I’m sure would make everyone nervous, despite the rationale being keeping costs down and allowing VFX artists to complete shots quicker.