It's a bit tangential, but the role of small disposable drones in warfare will only increase in the coming years. They're one of the more terrifying (non-WMD) weapons in terms of capabilities in my mind.
I believe weaponized drone swarms should be categorized with chemical weapons, cluster munitions, etc. A few thousand drones carrying shrapnel explosives and trained to recognize humans is basically a mobile minefield. It’s terrifying, really. I expect they will be used heavily if WW3 comes around, with devastating effect. Much like horse mounted cavalry encountering machine guns for the first time at the beginning of WW1. I’m not a weapons expert, so I could be wrong, but it seems so cheap and practical I can’t think of a scenario where it doesn’t happen eventually.
Chemical weapons aren't banned because they're effective, but because a) the way they kill is so cruel b) they kill indiscriminately.
Cluster munitions are banned by some countries (notably not including the US, China, Russia and India) because they leave UXO that is likely to explode later, killing or maiming civilians.
Just like the other examples (e.g. machine guns), I don't see drone swarms getting banned. Slaughterbots will be a documentary one day.
