Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS)
49 Articles
CCW Review Conference: Autonomous Weapons Discussion to Continue But Regulation Remains Unlikely
The most significant outcome from last week’s CCW Review Conference was the decision to create a UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE), which will meet for 10 days in 2017 to…
What to Expect from Next Week’s Fifth CCW Review Conference Focusing on Lethal Autonomous Weapons
On Monday, the Fifth Review Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be…
Technology and Autonomy in Warfare: A Consideration of the Issue by the US Defense Science Review Board
A new report from the Pentagon’s Defense Science Review Board (DSRB) provides a useful examination of the technical issues concerning the fielding of autonomous weapons. Unquestionably,…
De Facto and De Jure Non-International Armed Conflicts: Is It Time to Topple Tadić?
When does violence between a state and non-state actor constitute an armed conflict and thus trigger the system of legal rules that apply in non-international armed conflict (NIAC)?…
Weapon, Combatant, Child, Animal: They’re All Insufficient Analogies for Autonomous Weapon Systems
Autonomous weapon systems, that is, weapon systems capable of independently selecting and engaging targets, are usually portrayed in one of two ways. Either they are depicted as…
The International Discussion Continues: 2016 CCW Experts Meeting on Lethal Autonomous Weapons
Last week, States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), the international treaty banning or restricting the use of land mines, blinding lasers, and other…
Still Secret: Second Circuit Keeps More Drone Memos From the Public
Secret law has been anathema to our democracy since its Founding, but a federal appeals court just gave us more of it. Almost two centuries ago, James Madison wrote that “[a]…
Challenges New Weapons and Humanitarian Assistance Present for International Law
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth post in a miniseries about the International Committee of the Red Cross’s newly released Report on International Humanitarian Law and the…
Regulating Autonomous Weapons Might be Smarter Than Banning Them
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…
CIA and OLC Must Release More “Secret” Documents on Aulaqi Drone Strike
On Thursday, a federal district court in New York issued its latest ruling in the ACLU’s long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation seeking the legal and factual…
US Needs to Stop Tiptoeing Around the “Killer Robots” Threat
When it comes to banning “killer robots,” the United States is going to take some convincing. That was one major take-away from April’s multilateral meeting on the matter…
Defining “Meaningful Human Control” Over Autonomous Weapons
A semi-autonomous X-47B drone aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in 2013. Image Credit: US Navy via Wikimedia. What is the appropriate role of autonomy and human…