April 28, 2015
Postgame: the U.N. Debate on Lethal Robots
From April 13 to 17, the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons convened a meeting of experts on lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), attended by over 90 states and 15 non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This meeting was intended to build upon the first round of expert meetings, held in May 2014, and foster discussion of the technical, ethical, and legal issues related to LAWS. The meeting featured a combination of expert presentations and statements from participants, as well as daily side events hosted by NGOs.
While states were more engaged in the proceedings—and discussion was more focused—than during the 2014 meeting, it was clear that states held widely divergent views on the nature of autonomous weapons. For some, many existing drones qualify as LAWS. For others, only those systems capable of autonomous target selection and engagement qualify. For still others, only adaptive learning systems that exhibit human-level cognition would qualify as LAWS.
Read the full op-ed at Bard College.
More from CNAS
-
Will WWIII Be Fought By Robots?
Video
What will autonomous weapons mean for how future wars are waged and the loss of human lives in armed conflicts? That's the topic of a new book, Army of None: Autonomous Weapon...
By Paul Scharre
-
A Million Mistakes a Second
Commentary
Militaries around the globe are racing to build ever more autonomous drones, missiles, and cyberweapons. Greater autonomy allows for faster reactions on the battlefield, an ad...
By Paul Scharre
-
Six arrested after Venezuelan president dodges apparent assassination attempt
Commentary
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was speaking at a military event when a drone carrying plastic explosives detonated on Saturday. CNAS Technology and National Security Dire...
By Paul Scharre
-
Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War
What happens when a Predator drone has as much autonomy as a Google car? Or when a weapon that can hunt its own targets is hacked? Although it sounds like science fiction, the...
By Paul Scharre
