Why in the News
The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have jointly warned that the world is dangerously close to the autonomous targeting of humans by machines, renewing an urgent appeal for international regulation of lethal autonomous weapon systems. The statement renews a 2023 call by the UN Secretary General and the ICRC president for specific bans and restrictions on the technology by this year.
Note: Lethal autonomous weapon systems are weapon systems that select targets and apply force without human intervention.
What is the concern, and how has it changed since 2023?
- The warning has hardened, not softened: The two bodies stated their fundamental concerns remain unchanged from 2023 but that the underlying risks have intensified since then.
- The alarm includes the technology’s own developers: The statement highlights that scientists and engineers involved in developing these weapon systems have themselves raised concerns about the direction the technology is taking.
- No confirmed use yet, but the trajectory is the concern: Experts state there has been no confirmed use of fully autonomous weapons to directly target humans so far, and the warning is precautionary rather than a report of an actual deployment.
International Regulation
- United Nations: The UN has repeatedly called for international rules governing autonomous weapons.
- Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW): Discussions on LAWS have taken place under the CCW framework.
- UN Secretary General and ICRC: Both have advocated prohibiting weapons that operate without meaningful human control and imposing strict restrictions on other autonomous weapons.
- International Humanitarian Law (IHL): Existing principles such as distinction, proportionality and precaution remain central to assessing autonomous weapons.
India’s Position
- India has participated in international discussions on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems under the CCW.
- India has generally emphasised the importance of human control, international law and responsible development of emerging military technologies.
- For India, the issue is particularly relevant as AI, drones, robotics and autonomous systems become increasingly important in modern warfare.
“[2025, GS2, 15 marks] “The reform process in the United Nations remains unresolved, because of the delicate imbalance of East and West and entanglement of the USA vs. Russo-Chinese alliance.” Examine and critically evaluate the East-West policy confrontations in this regard.”
[2025] Consider the following statements regarding Al Action Summit held in Grand Palais, Paris in February 2025:
I. Co-chaired with India, the event builds on the advances made at the Bletchley Park Summit held in 2023 and the Seoul Summit held in 2024.
II. Along with other countries, US and UK also signed the declaration on inclusive and sustainable AI.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] I only
[B] II only
[C] Both I and II
[D] Neither I nor II
