UN to Discuss Regulations on 'Killer Robots' on the 16th

The United Nations will hold a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 16th to discuss ways to regulate and ban 'killer robots' (autonomous weapons systems) — weapons capable of selecting and attacking targets on their own without human judgment. The focus of the meeting will be whether the international community can put the brakes on the development and use of such weapons, and what rules should be established.

Autonomous weapons systems refer to weaponry capable of identifying targets, selecting targets to attack, and striking them without direct human intervention. In recent years, as AI technology capable of identifying and attacking targets without human involvement has been integrated into various weapons systems, their range of use and operational capabilities have expanded dramatically.

The most prominent example of AI weapons becoming commonplace on the battlefield is the AI-equipped drone. Such weapons can autonomously select and attack targets not pre-designated by humans, and they can also adapt to battlefield conditions. Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global and emerging risk at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, explained that in the war against Iran, which began in late February, the United States attacked up to about 1,000 targets inside Iran in a single day. China's Ministry of National Defense also described autonomous drone swarms as 'the new face of war' in January.

The United States holds that an 'appropriate level of human judgment' must be maintained in the operation of weapons. France, by contrast, insists that humans must be involved in the decision-making process and bans fully autonomous weapons while permitting only partially autonomous systems.

Rickli criticized the meeting for failing to address all issues surrounding AI on the battlefield. Technologies that merely assist human judgment — such as AI recommending targets — are not sufficiently covered in the discussions, he said, limiting the prospects for practical solutions.

Gerald Marcho, a researcher at the University of Cambridge in the UK, wrote in a contribution to Small Wars Journal that if one country normalizes fully autonomous lethal attacks amid fierce military competition, the expectations and operational standards of other countries could shift as well.