Research: Fatal Contraption: the UK position on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems

Naomi Colvin · Programme Director, Blueprint for Free Speech, UK · Bio

This research will focus on the development of autonomous weapons systems (AWS), together with attempts to limit that development and use. It will look in particular at the UK government's position on AWS both domestically and internationally, together with the scope for public influence on decision-making.

We are at a critical moment in the international discussions around the control, prohibition and proliferation of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) and the position of the UK on this issue is important. While the UK was one of 70 countries who signed up to a declaration in the UN General Assembly at the end of 2022, it is also part of the group that has hampered progress in arms control negotiations [1]. In international negotiations the UK position has been one in favour of voluntary guidelines for the development of autonomous weapons, rather than explicit prohibitions and controls. On a national level too, the UK Government has been reluctant to define exactly where the lines should be drawn. In 2018, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) claimed the UK had no plans to develop “fully autonomous weapons”, but today we know that the UK MoD is prioritising research into the use of AI for military purposes, including AI-enabled autonomous weapons.

On several occasions in the post WWII era, international society has managed to limit the proliferation and use of particular military horrors, perhaps most notably chemical and biological weapons. The 1997 Ottawa Treaty, which prohibited anti-personnel landmines – a basic kind of LAWS – has provided an example and inspiration for international civil society’s efforts to Stop Killer Robots.

It is not only campaigners who have become frustrated with the intransigence of the UK Government on this issue. Through 2023, a Special Inquiry into the Use of Artificial Intelligence in weapons systems has been running in the House of Lords [2]. The Inquiry presents an opportunity to provide some clarity on some fundamental issues where the UK position to date has been, perhaps, purposely obscure – and, perhaps, also at odds with what the British public would want to see their government doing.

The topic of, or LAWS, in the UK brings together a number of distinct areas and Naomi Colvin’s fellowship project will examine the following issues:

• How should we understand and conceptualise LAWs?

• What is the current state of development of autonomous weapons systems in the UK?

• How is information about the UK’s involvement in autonomous weapons systems development reaching the public domain?

• How far has the UK’s position on LAWs been justified, or even articulated, at the domestic level?

• To what extent has civil society been able to engage government on this issue?

The project will take the House of Lords Special Inquiry and international arms control negotiations as its starting point and map the range of actors involved in the UK policy debate. The project will build on existing knowledge through interviews with individuals involved in this issue from a number of perspectives, including civil society, politics, policymaking, technology and media.