For the fourth consecutive year in a row, concerns over fully autonomous weapons have featured prominently at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. More than 150 countries are participating in the month-long session at the UN in New York, which is open to registered non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Between 12-18 October, the Campaign to Stop […]
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Russia’s reluctant position on supporting more formal efforts to address concerns over lethal autonomous weapons systems came under scrutiny at a conference in Moscow at the end of September. The Russian Federation views more formal discussions on the matter at the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) as “premature” and told an April 2016 meeting that it sees “divergent and conflicting positions” relating […]
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The use of a remotely-controlled bomb disposal robot in Dallas, Texas on July 7 to deliver an explosive that detonated, killing a man suspected of shooting more than a dozen people, has attracted media attention and public scrutiny across the United States and around the world. While several media headlines have called this a “killer […]
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Momentum to prohibit weapons that would select and attack targets without further human intervention is building rapidly while a multilateral process to discuss the weapons proceeds, but at a lacklustre pace. This week five countries called for a preemptive ban on fully autonomous weapons systems during the third Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) meeting on the matter: Algeria, Chile, Costa […]
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The third Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) meeting on lethal autonomous weapons systems will be held at the United Nations (UN) Palais des Nations in Geneva on 11-15 April 2016. The following Frequently Asked Questions provide background on the objectives and purpose of this multilateral meeting. The formal proceedings will not be webcast live, but some statements will […]
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The challenge of killer robots is firmly on the agenda in Norway, where the ethics council of the $830 billion Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global has announced it intends to begin monitoring companies investing in the potential development of fully autonomous weapons systems. Ethics council chair Johan H. Andresen said the aim is to see if such investments would be contrary to […]
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