No One at the Controls: The Legal Implications of Fully Autonomous Targeting

Abstract

Abstract : The United States has increasingly relied on unmanned systems to help fight its wars, and these systems have steadily become more sophisticated. Science is now on the verge of many breakthroughs, particularly in artificial intelligence, which might well lead to the creation of fully autonomous unmanned systems. Autonomous systems could potentially attack enemies with lethal force without a human being in the loop. The possible deployment of lethal, autonomous robots (LARs) raises significant legal and ethical concerns. These profound concerns, including whether such systems would even comport with the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), have not yet been definitively resolved. The technology, however, continues to race forward, and many nations of the world are actively pursuing autonomous programs. To prevent being surpassed by rivals, the United States will likely exploit the potential of fully autonomous targeting. Therefore, operational commanders should begin examining the legal and the command and control implications of using such lethal, autonomous robots as they help steer the future development and doctrine of unmanned systems. While the use of such systems will arguably be deemed permissible under the Law of Armed Conflict, prudent operational commanders should still implement additional control measures to increase accountability over these new systems.