'out of the loop': autonomous weapon systems and the law of armed conflict

Various people have many definitions of what constitutes a lethal autonomous weapon. The specific standard entailed in the concept of being autonomous can vary hugely between different scholars, nations and organizations. In terms of military weapon development, the identification of a weapon as autonomous is not as clear as in other areas. In political science it may refer to an area's capability of self-governance. In philosophy it may refer to an individual being morally independent. In engineering it may refer to the machine's ability to operate without human involvement. The autonomy of current systems as of 2018 was restricted in the sense that a human gives the final command to attack-though there are exceptions with certain 'defensive' systems.īeing 'autonomous' has different meanings in different fields of study. LAWs may operate in the air, on land, on water, underwater, or in space. LAWs are also known as lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), autonomous weapon systems (AWS), robotic weapons or killer robots.

Lethal autonomous weapons ( LAWs) are a type of autonomous military system that can independently search for and engage targets based on programmed constraints and descriptions. Autonomous military technology system Serbian Land Rover Defender towing trailer with 'Miloš' tracked combat robot

'out of the loop': autonomous weapon systems and the law of armed conflict