Scenario | Why Autonomous Weapons Must Be Regulated

Hello everyone!

Today I want to raise a totally different topic: Autonomous Weapons.

Artificial Intelligence is today one of the most important topics that we face approaching future technologies.
Surely, many of you had the chance to read some books or perhaps watched some video about it. If someone is not updated regarding what AI actually is I suggest this fast reading from Encyclopedia Britannica to better understand the article.

AI changed the way we perceive our future. It opened so many different future paths for our societies and for our species as a whole that none of us can remain totally ignorant about it. Furthermore, this technology raises many moral and ethical issues.

We will explore one of those possible futures, a place where AI is developed to increase lethality of current weapons making them autonomous.

Once the stuff of science fiction, recent progress in artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning means that these rapidly advancing technologies are finally coming into widespread use within everyday life. Such rapid development in these areas also brings with it a host of social, political and legal issues, as well as a rise in public concern and academic interest in the ethical challenges these new technologies pose.

An artificial intelligence arms race will have a disintegrating effect on the commonly agreed global norms of international law, especially those on the restraint of the use of military force and on the protection of civilians during both times of war and in peace. Lethal Autonomous Weapons System (LAWS) will likely reduce the threshold for the use of force, making war more likely. The reality is that the institutions of peace and security are already starting to unravel. Armed unmanned aerial vehicles have enabled significant violations of the essential global norm against the use of force. Cyber-attacks also blur the lines between war and peace and will only grow in number and sophistication. The introduction of LAWS into countries’ military planning will only make this picture more complicated.

For the negotiations to progress toward a more concrete and ambitious path, a few developments would be welcome. First, the ICRC could endorse the call for a preventive prohibition of any weapon systems that eliminate meaningful human control over the critical functions and the decisions to kill. In the past, the ICRC has taken significantly transformative stances against landmines, cluster bombs, and more recently toward a ban of nuclear weapons. Its position has enormous moral clout and it would make a difference at this critical juncture.
Second, the forum for negotiations should not be the CCW, but one where decisions are taken by majority rather than unanimity.
Finally, one of the permanent five (P5) members of the UN Security Council, such as France, could embrace the role of the champion state towards a prohibition of any weapon systems that eliminate meaningful human control over the critical functions and the decisions to kill. Working with middle powers in Europe and Latin America, a P5 member could form a group of like-minded states that would work toward a legally binding instrument with commonly agreed global norms to protect the future of peace.

Beyond states, three groups lead the formation of new global norms to prevent a fast-developing race toward a lethal robotic future: the technology giants, scientists, and civil society. Their actions may serve as the basis for new global governance to prevent the destabilization of existing peace and security frameworks in international law.

Many campaigns are currently fighting against this possible future. If you want to help them check this website http://autonomousweapons.org/ and take action!

TT