In the hierarchy

1. Part II: Societal & Human Concerns
2. D11. Malicious Use & Weaponization
3. 11.4 Autonomous weapons & military AI

Virtues and principles to explore

Held as inquiry, not as a verdict.

• Courage

  Hope

  Act without the comfort of certainty.

• Stewardship

  Service

  Hold what is built in trust for those who will live with it.

• Prudence

  Excellence

  Small, reversible steps before irreversible ones.

Starter questions

Written to probe curiosity and learning, not accusation.

1. 01What capacity would we need — in people, in the institution, in the tools — to meet this well?
2. 02What would Prudence require of us here, before we proceed?
3. 03What might we be missing if we treat “Civilian-harm amplification” only as a technical problem?
4. 04If a colleague raised this concern tomorrow, how would we receive it as inquiry rather than accusation?

Also on this branch

• Lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS)15
• Swarm-drone attacks12
• AI-enabled targeting20
• AI decision-support in nuclear command10
• Cyberwar automation20
• Loitering munitions with AI20

Who is working on it

Cited for their public writing. Citation is not endorsement, partnership, or affiliation.

• International Committee of the Red Cross

Frameworks and sources

• MIT AI Incident Trackerincidents
• MITRE ATLASframework
• International humanitarian law (IHL)framework

  The body of law that governs the conduct of armed conflict and the protection of people who are not fighting, which applies to AI used in or for conflict.

• Autonomous weapon systems and international humanitarian lawposition paper
• Deciding under algorithms: artificial intelligence and the protection of civilian infrastructure in armed conflictguidance
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning in armed conflict: a human-centred approachposition paper
• Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Armed Conflictguidance
• ICRC law and policy hub on AIguidance

See also exemplar policies.