A group of German scientists has written an open letter to the new federal government, calling for the creation of legally binding international rules for the use of “autonomy in weapon systems.” The move comes after a United Nations report revealed that a military drone autonomously attacked humans for the first time in 2020. The development of new autonomous weapon systems could lead to such incidents becoming a regular occurrence in the future. The scientists, including experts in artificial intelligence and robotics, are concerned about the lack of human control over the use of violence in autonomous weapon systems.
The open letter, signed by the President of the Society for Informatics, Prof. Dr. Hannes Federrath, among others, calls for the creation of legally binding international rules for the use of autonomy in weapon systems. Similar demands have been made by CEOs and thousands of scientists in other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United States. The scientists argue that “people should not be attacked by autonomous systems, and in particular, the decision to use weapons of mass destruction should not be made solely by algorithms without human intervention.” While the signatories believe that AI and robotics can have positive impacts on humanity, they also acknowledge that the technology can be misused.
The scientists are particularly concerned about the lack of human control over the use of violence in autonomous weapon systems. They fear that a future arms race in autonomous weapon systems could lead to a societal backlash against AI and robotics. The open letter calls on the new government to take a leading role in the development of a legally binding treaty to regulate autonomous weapon systems. However, in January 2020, the Bundestag rejected a proposal by the Left and Green parties calling for Germany to advocate for a ban on the technology at the UN level. The scientists hope that their open letter will raise awareness of the issue and encourage the government to take action.
