On Friday, a firing test using live ammo by the South African National Defense Force went tragically sour, leaving nine dead and 14 seriously injured. Authorities are still looking into what caused the automated Oerlikon GDF-005 anti-aircraft gun to start spraying friendly troops with high-explosive 35 mm rounds from its twin barrels, which jammed before uncontrollably showering the area around it. A female artillery officer managed to shut the gun down, but not before the robotic turret had expended several hundred shells from its auto-loading magazines.

We joke about killer robots often enough, but an incident such as this serves as a chilling reminder of the power we give to automated systems. We're close to Terminator; let's hope we never reach War Games. — Kevin Hall

Wired, via Gizmodo