Search: robots
05 Apr Symposium on Military AI and the Law of Armed Conflict: De-anthropomorphizing Artificial Intelligence – Grounding Notions of Accountability in Reality
...development and use of AI where its potential benefits can outweigh its risks. No technology, including weapons and weapons systems, is infallible. The approach to accountability for unwanted outcomes should be no different than with any other means or method of warfare. Hyperbolic calls to ban “Killer Robots” specifically, or militarized AI generally, have gained little to no traction among States. This should come as no surprise given the potential AI offers to exponentially increase the speed, efficiency, and accuracy of operations and reduce the inherent and infamous fog of...
14 Aug A Better World Emerging from the Crises
...military advantage through weapons research. Instead of green technology, the competitionists invent killer robots. Instead of cyber security, their researchers find new ways to destroy through computer applications. China builds coal-fired power plants to pay for a navy bigger than the U.S.’s. The contrast with the non-polar world could not be greater. The pandemic is leading to de-coupling from hegemonic rivalry. Figures like Putin, Trump, or Xi, are not found among those committed to solidarity. And the solidarists are everywhere. Their names reach headlines without stoking cults of personality, including,...05 Jan Holiday Roundup: December 22, 2012 – January 4, 2013
...already made a new year’s resolution to post more about robots, but promised to cover other areas as well. His first post of the year covered adulteration of extra virgin olive oil, showing that there is no limit to potential international law questions. Kristen Boon also reflected on the role of international law in settling the East China Sea dispute. If you need to catch up with the news of the past fortnight, our weekday news wraps may be helpful. As always, we also provided our weekly events and announcements...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....21 Feb The Ethics and Economics of Asteroid Mining (and the Role for Law)
...the economies of resource-exporting nations. What would happen to most of Africa? What would it do to the cost of iron ore? And what about refining and manufacturing? If we spend the money to harvest iron in space, why not outsource the other related processes as well? Imagine a future in which solar-powered robots toil in lunar or orbital factories. “On the one hand, it’s great,” Brother Consolmango said. “You’ve now taken all of this dirty industry off the surface of the Earth. On the other hand, you’ve put a...02 Jul Is International Criminal Law “Crowding Out” the Rest of Public International Law?
...war anymore? An end-run around the P-5? Neglecting the UN? I want to thank EJIL editor and old friend Joe Weiler for commissioning this essay – and then running it when it turned out to be a somewhat strange piece for EJIL. It draws on my personal experience regarding the early days of the then-proposed ICTY, among other things. Everything from battlefield robots to the P-5 … no lack of topics here in a short space. Although I think it will drive some readers crazy, and for a good reason...
08 May New Technologies Symposium: Autonomous Weapons Systems– Why Keeping a ‘Human On the Loop’ Is Not Enough
...(159) In sum, Boothby provides a highly interesting conceptual framework within which autonomous weapons systems should be regulated. His argument pushes contemporary debates forward by finding a plausible middle ground between those advocating a strict ban on ‘killer robots’, and those (few) who seem to have unlimited confidence in this type of technology. Nevertheless, I believe there is still more work to do before concluding that a human on the loop will make the employment of autonomous weapons systems safe enough to be used both in armed conflict and in...
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...