Question 07 · What risks arise?
Are there autonomous weapons through AI?
Short version
Yes. Systems with autonomous functions are already in use, for example drones that steer themselves toward a target in the final stage of flight. There is no international ban so far. States have been negotiating about this at the UN for years.
Long version
Autonomy in weapons is not a yes-or-no question, but a matter of degree. At one end, a human confirms every target. At the other, a system detects, selects, and attacks targets on its own. The military is pushing this development forward because radio links can be jammed and machines react faster than humans.
The central question is: who is responsible when a system makes a mistake? You cannot put a machine on trial. The UN General Assembly passed its first resolution on lethal autonomous weapons systems in 2023. Many states and the International Committee of the Red Cross are calling for binding rules, while some major military powers are holding back.
The technology is developing faster than diplomacy. That makes the question urgent, not hopeless.
The machine can take over the decision, the responsibility stays with the human.
Sources for this question
- United Nations General Assembly. (2023). Lethal autonomous weapons systems (A/RES/78/241). https://docs.un.org/en/A/RES/78/241
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