A military artificial intelligence arms race is a competition or arms race between two or more states to have their military forces equipped with the best artificial intelligence (AI). Since the mid-2010s many analysts have noted the emergence of such a global arms race, the AI arms race, between great powers for better military AI, coinciding with and being driven by the increasing geopolitical and military tensions of what some have called a Second Cold War. The context of the AI arms race is the AI Cold War narrative, in which tensions between the US and China lead to a cold war waged in the area of AI technology. Terminology The AI arms race is the race by global powers to develop and deploy lethal autonomous weapons systems, also known as "slaughterbots" or "killer robots." These are weapons systems that use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify, select, and kill human targets without human intervention. More broadly, any competition for superior AI is sometimes framed as an "arms race". A quest for military AI dominance overlaps with a quest for dominance in other sectors, especially as a country pursues both economic and military advantages. Risks Stephen Cave of the Leverhulme Centre argues that the risks of an AI race are threefold, each with potential geopolitical implications. The first risk is that even if there was no race the terminology surrounding the race is dangerous. The rhetoric around the AI race and the importance of being first does not encourage the type of thoughtful deliberation with stake holders required to produce AI technology that is the most broadly beneficial to society and could self-fulfillingly induce a race. The second risk is the AI race itself, whether or not the race is won by any one group. Due to the rhetoric and perceived advantage of being the first to develop advanced AI technology, there emerges strong incentives to cut corners on safety considerations which might leave out important aspects such as bias and fairness. In particular, the perception of another team being on the brink of a break through encourages other teams to take short cuts and deploy an AI system that is not ready, which can be harmful to others and the group possessing the AI system. As Paul Scharre warns in Foreign Policy, "For each country, the real danger is not that it will fall behind its competitors in AI but