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04 Mar Guest Post: Autonomous Weapons at Chatham House: It’s Bentham versus Kant
...of radar or infrared imagery, etc.) or that robots can take more risks (as if remotely operated robots can't do the same). As to the last point, it is often argued that communications links are vulnerable, but this applies mainly in the case of state-vs.-state warfare, and especially aggressive or preemptive war, where robots might be used for strategic attack. Mr. Blanchard does acknowledge the existence of "concerns about strategic stability," but then quickly sidelines them with the assertion that this is not what "the debate here" is about. I...15 May The Fog of Technology and International Law
...whether it’s the remotely-piloted drone that killed Lo Porto and Weinstein, Stuxnet, or rumors of truly autonomous weapon systems (or “killer robots”). Which domestic and international legal frameworks regulate the deployment of these technologies? Does international humanitarian law (IHL) govern these operations, and, if so, does it do so exclusively, or do other regimes like international human rights apply as well? To the extent a specific regime applies – IHL – how do its rules on things like distinction or neutrality apply to technologies and operations that may have no...
04 Mar Warning! Obstacles Ahead! The Regulation of Autonomous Weapons Systems in the GGE LAWS
...Weapons Convention. This is a very positive development and gives hope that States may be willing and able to agree on how to address the challenges in the development and use of autonomous weapons systems. On the other hand, some States and civil society organizations are not satisfied at all with the pace of the regulation of autonomous weapons systems. For example, in 2022, the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots voiced a very different perspective on the state of progress of the GGE LAWS: “After 9 years of international discussions,...
29 Aug Automatizing Patterns of Conduct: Can Artificial Intelligence Help Commanders Better Comply with the Principle of Distinction?
...fit for this purpose, by highlighting some opportunities and challenges worth keeping in mind while developing this new technology. Proliferation of AI in the battlefield Despite fully autonomous weapons, popularly known as killer robots, are far away from existing, autonomy in the battlefield is a much more established reality than one may assume at first. Hundreds of a wide range of autonomous weapon systems, including “stationary turrets, missile systems, and manned or unmanned aerial, terrestrial or marine vehicles,” with different autonomy levels (for instance some of them using AI and...13 Apr Law and Ethics for Autonomous Weapon Systems
Last November, two documents appeared within a few days of each other, each addressing the emerging legal and policy issues of autonomous weapon systems – and taking strongly incompatible approaches. One was from Human Rights Watch, whose report, Losing Our Humanity: The Case Against Killer Robots, made a sweeping, provocative call for an international treaty ban on the use, production, and development of what it defined as “fully autonomous weapons.” Human Rights Watch has followed that up with a public campaign for signatures on a petition supporting a ban, as...06 Nov Autonomous Weapons and a Campaign for a Treaty Ban
The debate over autonomous weapons is not so visible in the United States, but the ban campaign launched by Human Rights Watch a year ago – an international NGO coalition called the “Campaign to Stop Killer Robots” – has been quite active in Europe and at the UN, where a number of countries raised the issue in their statements to the General Assembly’s First Committee (disarmament issues). Matthew Waxman and I have been writing about this issue for several years; we have a short policy paper on the topic available...09 Nov Weekend Roundup: November 2-8, 2013
...and non-self-executing treaty was also misunderstood. Should an international treaty ban “killer robots”? Ken, in a WSJ op-ed with Matthew Waxman, argued that it should not . From killer robots to drones: Deborah was worried about reports that the migration of targeting operations from the CIA to the Pentagon has stalled. The recent drone reports by HRW and AI were criticized by Jens Iverson who examined whether members of armed groups can be targeted and by Michael W. Lewis who argued that significant flaws undermine the reports’ objectivity and overall...