Two nations, each in their own war of choice, agree that humans do not have to be in the loop when a machine identifies a target. Why should be obvious.
Earlier this month, governments met at the United Nations in Geneva to work on proposed international rules for lethal autonomous weapons.
During the negotiations, American and Russian representatives pushed successfully to remove several safeguards from the draft.
Gone was language saying autonomous weapons should be predictable, reliable, explainable and traceable. Gone was a reference to ethical considerations.
And according to the Washington Post, gone was a provision requiring a human to review targets generated by AI before weapons were used against them.
The final document still says human control and judgment are necessary under international humanitarian law. It is nonbinding.
Artificial intelligence is already used to process battlefield information and help identify possible targets. The deleted language would have required a person to review an AI-generated target before a strike.
In November, countries will meet at a U.N. review conference in Geneva to decide whether to begin formal negotiations toward international rules.
Two nations, each in their own war of choice, agree that humans do not have to be in the loop when a machine identifies a target.
Why should be obvious.
Sources
- Washington Post: How the U.S. and Russia weakened a global effort to regulate killer AI
- Human Rights Watch: U.N. Talks on Killer Robots End With Calls for Negotiations Growing
- United Nations: 2026 CCW Group of Governmental Experts document
- United Nations: CCW 2026 meeting arrangements
- Reuters: Opposition by U.S. and Russia raises doubts over autonomous weapons talks outcome
- United Nations Geneva: Press briefing on autonomous weapons negotiations
- ICRC: Renewed U.N.–ICRC call for rules on autonomous weapon systems
