Nations endorsing the inaugural United Nations General Assembly resolution addressing “killer robots” are urged by Human Rights Watch to champion discussions for a novel international treaty aimed at prohibiting and overseeing these weapons.
Autonomous weapons systems identify and engage targets using sensor processing rather than human guidance.
On December 22, 2023, a total of 152 countries supported the General Assembly resolution underscoring the perils associated with lethal autonomous weapons systems, with four casting negative votes, and 11 abstaining, Human Rights Watch reported.
General Assembly Resolution 78/241 acknowledges the “serious challenges and concerns” raised by “new technological applications in the military domain, including those related to artificial intelligence and autonomy in weapons systems.”
“The General Assembly resolution on autonomous weapons systems stresses the urgent need for the international community to deal with the dangers raised by removing human control from the use of force,” said Mary Wareham, arms advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The resolution’s wide support shows that governments are prepared to take action, and they should move forward on a new international treaty without delay.”
While certain autonomous weapons systems have been in existence for years, their types, operational durations, geographical reach, and operating environments have historically been constrained.
Nevertheless, ongoing technological progress is driving the emergence of autonomous weapons systems that function without significant human oversight, transferring life-and-death decisions to machines.
Written by B.C. Begley
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B.C. Begley 