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About

Alek Hillas is a security studies and international law scholar whose research sits at the critical intersection of autonomous weapons technology, military ethics, and global governance. His work has primarily focused on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), examining the profound legal, ethical, and policy challenges posed by increasingly autonomous military technologies in modern warfare. Hillas made a notable contribution to the field with his most-cited work, "Friend or frenemy? The role of trust in human-machine teaming and lethal autonomous weapons systems" (2020, 32 citations), which interrogates the complex dynamics of human-machine interaction in military contexts and the trust frameworks necessary for responsible deployment. His earlier piece on adapting to unmanned warfare (2017) engaged directly with landmark UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons deliberations, positioning him as a thoughtful commentator on emerging international regulatory debates. Across his body of work, Hillas consistently challenges policymakers to confront accountability gaps in autonomous weapons deployment and proposes governance mechanisms — including novel arms control frameworks — to manage proliferation risks. His cumulative citation impact reflects a growing scholarly and policy community grappling with questions he has helped place firmly on the academic agenda.