Search: battlefield robots
14 May Brookings Conference on Legislating Counterterrorism
...framework for counterterrorism – which is to say, a framework of domestic law for things like detention, interrogation, FISA, etc. My paper, which I’ll post up if Brookings will let me once complete, is forward looking with respect to the tactics of counterterrorism, specifically targeted killing, particularly by Predators and advancing robotic technologies. (Yes, dear readers, you knew I would work around to robots eventually.) My fundamental observation to the Obama administration is that, to judge by Campaign Obama and Administration Obama, it embraces targeted killing as a useful method...01 Jun Ken also Blogging at Volokh, but not Leaving OJ
...areas not really related to law, but raise topics appropriate to CTLab. You should check out CTLab – it has wonderful academic symposia, an active blog, and many fascinating features that go far outside of the usual international law frame on group violence. Anyway, I am devoted to OJ, and want to be clear that joining up with Volokh is not at all about leaving OJ. Alas, there will be many, many a post devoted to robots and war, and I’ll start talking about microfinance and development finance again. So...30 May Pentagon Concludes Cyber Attack Can Be Act of War
The Wall Street Journal reporting on un-classifed portions of a report anticipated for release next month. I concentrate on robots, not cyber, so I leave it to others to comment, but I do recall that this report and its conclusions have been discussed a fair amount in academic circles, and as far as I know this will not surprise people following those discussions. (Here’s a good new piece on the topic from Matthew Waxman, in YJIL) Though this is not my speciality, I wanted to flag it for people’s attention....
15 Jan After the International Court of Justice: Business as Usual? Al-Haq and Others versus the Netherlands: District Court The Hague 13 December 2024
...Netherlands exported 2.5 million euros worth of military goods -including components of military robots and naval vessels- to Israel between 7 October 2023 and October 2024. The judge’s conclusions that there is also no legal basis for a full embargo is only reached because the wider context (the illegal occupation) is entirely left out of consideration. Both the Opinion and the Arms Trade Treaty (not mentioned in the ruling, but Article 7 prohibits arms export if there is an overriding risk of facilitating a serious violation of international humanitarian or...03 Jan Some Thoughts on Negotiating a Treaty on Autonomous Weapon Systems
...informative discussion had run its course, and that the time was right to proceed with a more formal mandate, to “explore and agree on possible recommendations on options related to emerging technologies in the area of LAWS”. Once confirmed, this raised expectations amongst some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that a ban on ‘killer robots’ may follow. However, as other commentators noted at the time, the formal mandate made no reference to negotiating a LAWS treaty, and this was clearly a result of divergent views within the CCW’s membership over how best...26 Nov Human Rights Watch Report on Autonomous Weapons, and Matthew Waxman and Ken Anderson’s Critique
Human Rights Watch has released a new report (co-authored by the Harvard Law School Human Rights Clinic) on autonomous weapons systems that might emerge over the next several decades, titled “Losing Humanity: The Case Against Killer Robots.” The report calls for a multilateral treaty that would preemptively ban “development, production, and use” of fully autonomous weapons by all states. It would be hard to be more sweeping than the report’s language in calling a comprehensive ban – here is the language from the recommendations, directed to states: Prohibit the development,...22 Jul Sotomayor, International Law, Context, and the Confirmation Hearings Charade
...judges are akin to autonomous robots who mechanistically and abstractly apply inbred, dry legal principles to meticulously pruned fact patterns. To the contrary, good judging is an intensely human and dynamic experience. American Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes spoke of this eloquently last century and Judge Richard Posner has done so in this one. And, on a macro level, good judging requires growth of the entire judicial collective conscience. Being aware of what is going on in the wider world is certainly an integral part of that. And it is, I...16 Jan Law and Robotics Conference Seeking Paper Proposals, and HRW’s Tom Malinowski Releases Video That I Will Always Treasure
...is the link if you’re interested. Meanwhile, over at Lawfare, Human Rights Watch’s Tom Malinowski, Benjamin Wittes, Matthew Waxman, and I have been debating the recent HRW report calling for a ban on “Killer Robots.” Tom’s latest response – though mostly a serious discussion, well worth reading, though I’m afraid it doesn’t finally manage to persuade me – has a video at the end that I will always, always fondly treasure. It’s great. (It’s in Hindi, and though I didn’t know Tom knew Hindi, I’m going to trust his subtitles.)...
31 Mar ‘Responsible AI’ in the Military Domain: Implications for Regulation
...vague in their proposals for global governance and regulation. It potentially risks undermining efforts for the setting of binding legal norms on the development, testing, and use of AI in the military domain. What is Responsible AI in the Military? Many portrayals of (anthropomorphic) AI in science-fiction feature humanoid robots and androids which are depicted as beings with their own conscience. This gives the wrong impression that AI applications can be legal subjects, and thus are legally, morally, and ethically responsible for their actions or thoughts. But as pointed out...