Chapter

The legal implications of the use of systems with autonomous capabilities in military operations

Roberta Arnold

Autonomous systems : issues for defence policymakers

Norfolk : NATO HQ SACT, 2015

p. 83-97

English

Bibliographie : p. 96-97. - Photocopies. - Source : https://www.act.nato.int/images/stories/media/capdev/capdev_02.pdf (last accessed on 15.06.2020)

Several initiatives have been launched to address some of the concerns raised by systems with autonomous capabilities (SAC), including the 2013-15 autonomous systems research project led by NATO Allied Command Transformation. This chapter illustrates the outcomes of the research with regard to the application of the law of state responsibility, which aimed at identifying and examining the principles according to which responsibility for wrongdoings under international law committed by or through the use of SAC may be attributed to a state. The main conclusion is that there currently appears to be no need to adopt a SAC-specific treaty in order to address concerns related to the attribution of state responsibility for the (mis-)use of such systems. Due to their increasing complexity, however, and the fact that it will become more difficult for the user to predict their behaviour in complex environments, the stage of the technological development, and the associated risks and implications should be monitored by states and taken into account when testing new systems.

• More information is available for logged in users