The revolution of autonomous systems and its implications for the arms trade

Book chapter


Wyatt, A. and Galliott, Jai. (2020). The revolution of autonomous systems and its implications for the arms trade. In Research Handbook on the Arms Trade pp. 389-405 Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789900996.00035
AuthorsWyatt, A. and Galliott, Jai
Abstract

Beyond the, admittedly significant, ethical, moral and legal issues raised by increasingly autonomous and remote-operated weapons, it is also important to consider the question of how the proliferation of increasingly Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) would influence and, in turn, be propagated by the global arms trade. As the core enabling technologies for Autonomous Weapon Systems (chiefly various forms of Artificial Intelligence) mature, the barriers of entry for potential adopters will continue to fall. The negative consequences of terrorist groups gaining the capacity to remotely strike previously protected targets, of insurgents to offset the traditional military advantages of states, or of smaller states to interfere in the domestic affairs of their neighbours, are becoming increasingly clear. This chapter demonstrates that the avenues for AWS proliferation are already in place and argues that, short of an increasingly unlikely pre-emptive ban under international law, policymakers must act to establish the mutual understandings, definitional agreements and bilateral control regimes that will be necessary to limit the negative impacts of uncontrolled AWS proliferation.

KeywordsAutonomous Weapon Systems; AWS
Page range389-405
Year01 Jan 2020
Book titleResearch Handbook on the Arms Trade
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing
Place of publicationUnited Kingdom
ISBN9781789900989
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789900996.00035
Web address (URL)https://china.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/edcoll/9781789900989/9781789900989.00035.xml
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online15 Dec 2020
Publication process dates
Deposited19 Jan 2024
Additional information

Copyright © 2020. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

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