Autonomous Weapons Systems, Drones, and the Future of Conflict
One of the unexpected turns of events in the war in Ukraine has been the widespread adoption of drones as a tool of war. On the battlefield, armed forces innovate and test these systems in real time, increasingly shifting towards autonomous and unmanned systems on land and in the sea. Private companies and drone manufacturers have begun partnering with Ukrainian forces to test new drone innovations like using artificial intelligence to increase autonomous operations, object recognition, and collect and analyze data. However, the use of autonomous weapons is controversial. There are human rights concerns, such as how existing understandings and agreements about appropriate conduct in war map onto the use of autonomous weapon systems. Broader ethical and philosophical questions have also become pressing, like what the appropriate uses of (lethal) autonomous weapon systems should be. This Task Force will engage with this emerging policy area and make recommendations for paths forward in light of the findings.
