The second session of the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) opened yesterday in Geneva. The mandate of the Group is to develop elements by the end of 2025 for an international instrument on these weapon systems, with the aim of ensuring their use in full compliance with international humanitarian law in conflict situations. In his speech on behalf of Italy, Ambassador Leonardo Bencini, Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, noted that while artificial intelligence (AI) and automation offer opportunities and benefits, they may also entail risks, some of which are currently unforeseeable, in their military applications. “Italy believes that such an instrument should eventually be an Additional Protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW)” stated Ambassador Bencini, “according to the two-tier approach, the development and use of lethal autonomous weapons systems would fully comply with the principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), preserve sufficient human control and ensure accountability”. The meeting of the Group of Experts will conclude next Friday.
LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPON SYSTEMS: MEETING OF THE GROUP OF GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS IN GENEVA
