Meaningful Human Control of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: The CCW-Debate and Its Implications for VSD

Abstract

The debate on the development and deployment of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) as an emerging technology is of increasing importance, with discussions stalling and technological development progressing. Monitoring the progress of increasingly autonomous weapons systems in civilian and military use [1] as well as regulating possible autonomous systems early on is demanded by civil society actors, like the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), while nation states follow a variety of interests and strategies, showing little room for consensus on central terms and questions [2], [3]. This article therefore sheds light on the work of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) of the UN Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). The CCW, offering an arena for international cooperation, has dedicated itself to the purpose of finding common ground with respect to an understanding of LAWS, as well as to the necessary degree of human control. From an ethical perspective, the concept of Meaningful Human Control (MHC) supports a human-centric approach. Several IEEE projects, series and publications [4] are dedicated to this prioritization, especially regarding civilian use. As autonomous technology is increasingly at the center of contemporary military innovations, questions of (human) agency and responsibility in warfare have become even more pressing [5]. As stressed by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), the concept of MHC may prove useful in the context of development and use of (semi-) autonomous weaponry [6].