A man was in a supermarket on Tuesday choosing plums from a tray of fruit. Suddenly, the blue bag on his shoulder exploded, throwing him to the ground.

This event took place in Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon. Thousands were injured after pagersA small piece electronic device that was carried or worn, pre-mobile phones, which vibrated or made a noise to tell you that someone wanted you to phone them. exploded in pockets, bags and hands across the country.

The next day, exploding walkie-talkiesPortable radios for sending and receiving messages. injured hundreds of people, killing at least 20, in the same Middle Eastern country.

Most commentators think Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, was responsible for both lots of attacks.

The devices belonged to members of Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party which has a long-standing conflict with Israel.

In Ukraine, technology is also changing the nature of war. Drones are becoming a vital part of the conflict with Russia, and soldiers on both sides are relying increasingly on AI to find, track and target enemy fighters.

Those in favour of AI believe it will increase safety for soldiers and improve decision-making. But many fear the fact that AI has no moral concerns and that its algorithms may even be unlawful.

Should high-tech weapons be banned?

Yes! AI technology replaces human responsibility with a machine that lacks moral judgement.

No! New technologies reduce human error and keep humans away from the most dangerous battlefield tasks.