How to Regulate Autonomous Weapons

We are, once again, witnes­sing a techno­logical revo­lution in war­­fare: the pro­gres­sing auto­nomy in weapons systems. Auto­nomy refers to capa­bilities of weapons to operate without human gui­dance, pertaining to less contro­versial functions such as navi­gation and recon­nais­sance – but also to the alarming prospect of robots making the kil­ling decision. The latter in particular has given rise to funda­mental ethical and legal concerns:To what extent is it morally accept­able to use robots in military oper­ations? Are auto­nomous weapons capable of compliance with Inter­national Humani­tarian Law? Who can be held account­able for their actions and how? Responding to these concerns, this Spotlight echoes the calls for a ban on killer robots, and proposes to adopt a new principle, which would turn meaning­ful human control of lethal weapons into an obli­gation under Inter­national Humani­tarian Law.