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. 01If we named this complication in advance, what small, reversible step would let us learn?
2. 02How would we know we were getting this wrong? What would we observe, without blaming a person?
3. 03What would trustworthiness look like here: what we do, what we say, and the belief others form?
4. 04What would it look like if we held “Debate: ban, moratorium, meaningful human control” with proportion rather than alarm?

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
• 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.