Ban autonomous lethal weapons

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Key insights

Many quotes on both sides reject completely unconstrained machine killing and instead emphasize some form of human judgment, control, or accountability.
A central disagreement is over scope: some quotes call for banning systems that select and engage targets without meaningful human control, while others reject only a total ban and want narrower rules for bounded or defensive systems.
Supporters often combine ethical objections with practical warnings about civilian harm, friendly fire, escalation, faulty data, and current model unreliability.
Opponents mainly challenge the feasibility, enforceability, and military consequences of a ban, rather than arguing that no safeguards are needed.
The pro-restriction quotes come from a wide mix of legislators, diplomats, military veterans, religious leaders, humanitarian organizations, and AI companies or researchers.

Arguments for

Moral agency in killing

Supporters argue that decisions to take human life require conscience, moral judgment, and responsible human control. Because machines and algorithms cannot understand the value of human life or recognize the other as a person, delegating lethal choices to them is described as morally repugnant and impermissible.

Machines selecting and engaging their target and taking a life – without human control and judgment. That is morally repugnant. It is politically unacceptable. And it must be banned by international law.

António Guterres · Jul 6, 2026 · full quote
Yet moral judgment cannot be reduced to calculation, for it involves conscience, personal responsibility and the recognition of the other as a person. Therefore, it is not permissible to entrust lethal or otherwise irreversible decisions to artificial systems.

Pope Leo XIV · May 15, 2026 · full quote
No machine, no algorithm, and no autonomous system can be placed at the center of decisions upon which the survival of humanity depends. Decisions concerning life and death, peace and war, and the future of peoples and generations yet to come must remain under full, responsible, …

Cardinal Baldo Reina · Jul 16, 2026 · full quote
No machine should ever be given the power to decide to kill a human being on its own. Allowing AI systems to independently select and engage targets carries serious risks; machines cannot understand morality or the value of human life, nor can they be held accountable for mistake…

Don Beyer · Jul 17, 2026 · full quote
We must not normalize a future in which human beings delegate the irreversible decision to take a human life to a machine. Meaningful human responsibility must remain where the stakes are highest.

Halla Tómasdóttir · Jul 7, 2026 · full quote
As an Army veteran who served in Iraq, I know the moral responsibility that comes with taking human life in combat, decisions that must never be handed over to machines. This bill ensures meaningful human control over lethal autonomous systems, restores accountability to war-maki…

Naveed Shah · Jul 17, 2026 · full quote

Accountability and law

Proponents say meaningful human control is necessary to uphold international humanitarian law and preserve accountability at every stage. They argue that if AI identifies targets or attacks without human involvement, it becomes unclear who can be held responsible and harder to satisfy principles such as distinction, proportionality, and precaution.

It is important to affirm Ireland's long-standing position that the use of autonomous weapons systems to identify, select and engage targets without any or nominal human involvement is fundamentally incompatible with international humanitarian law and the principles of distinctio…

Fiona O'Loughlin · Jun 17, 2026 · full quote
Indeed, since full moral causality belongs only to personal agents and not to artificial ones, if AI is to be used to uphold human dignity and truly serve the common good, responsibility for its use must remain with human decision-makers, with accountability maintained at every s…

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero · Jul 7, 2026 · full quote
The international community should adopt binding rules requiring human oversight of autonomous weapons systems and strict compliance with applicable international law at all times.

Daryl G. Kimball · Jul 14, 2026 · full quote
All weapon systems should remain under human control at all times, and humans should bear the ultimate accountability.

Shen Jian · Jun 17, 2026 · full quote
Life-and-death decisions must never be delegated to sensors and algorithms. Human control over the use of force is critical to preserving accountability in warfare. Machines with the power to take lives without human involvement should be banned under international law.

Mirjana Spoljaric Egger · 2025 · full quote
If the target was identified and missiles fired without any human involvement, who are the individuals to be held to account? The software engineers who developed the code?

Bessma Momani · Mar 12, 2026 · full quote

Catastrophic errors and escalation

Supporters warn that current AI can be unreliable, brittle, and dependent on faulty data in very high-stakes settings. They cite risks such as civilian casualties, friendly fire, deadly accidents, danger to warfighters and civilians, and unintended escalation as practical reasons not to let autonomous systems make lethal decisions.

AI mistakes on the battlefield have the potential to be catastrophic: civilian casualties, friendly fire, unintended escalation, and calculations made on faulty data. These aren’t risks worth taking – not when they can result in unnecessary lives lost or war. That’s why I’m proud…

Sara Jacobs · Jul 17, 2026 · full quote
We do not believe that today’s frontier AI models are reliable enough to be used in fully autonomous weapons. Allowing current models to be used in this way would endanger America’s warfighters and civilians.

Anthropic · Feb 27, 2026 · full quote
AI is simply not capable of making a judgment. It merely processes data, completely lacking the ability, for example, to distinguish civilians from combatants or to judge whether loss of life is proportionate to military advantage.

Chris Cole · Jun 3, 2026 · full quote
Any revision that compresses testing and evaluation timelines, reduces existing safeguards, or curtails the ability of commanders and operators to exercise human judgment over the use of force risks devastating consequences – including friendly fire incidents and civilian harm in…

Ruben Gallego · Jun 15, 2026 · full quote
All AI systems should be under meaningful human control. This is especially true for those that could be used in the taking of human lives. Moreover, current AI systems are inherently unpredictable and fundamentally brittle, unsuited for very high stakes applications. Even if the…

Max Tegmark · 2026 · full quote
I’m proud to introduce this legislation to put in place necessary safeguards to prevent deadly accidents or misfires by autonomous weapons using new and evolving technologies, while also directing the Pentagon to utilize this cutting-edge technology to promote U.S. national secur…

Chris Coons · Jun 8, 2026 · full quote

Binding rules now

Many supporters argue that voluntary principles are not enough and that governments should move quickly toward legally binding international rules, with domestic legislation where needed. They present prohibition as the clearest and most reliable way to protect combatants and civilians, preserve human control, and respond before proliferation advances further.

I send greetings to everyone attending these important consultations on a defining issue of our time — the threat posed by lethal autonomous weapons systems. Machines that have the power and discretion to take human lives without human control are politically unacceptable, moral…

António Guterres · 2025 · full quote
Outright prohibition is therefore the most practical and effective solution, providing clarity and reliability for militaries and necessary protection for combatants and civilians alike.

International Committee of the Red Cross · Jul 15, 2026 · full quote
The Group calls for the earliest possible commencement of negotiations, under the auspices of the United Nations, toward a legally binding instrument that prohibits lethal autonomous weapons systems, in conformity with international humanitarian law and the principles of humanity…

African Group · Apr 6, 2026 · full quote
We support the call for legally binding instrument that establishes clear prohibition and restriction on autonomous weapon systems, ensuring that technology never replaces human judgment and control over the use of force.

Government of Somalia · May 20, 2026 · full quote
As AI integrates into defence systems and the conduct of warfare, human judgement and responsibility must never be surrendered in decisions over life or death. This is why I believe that wherever voluntary principles fall short, we must be prepared to establish binding internatio…

Luc Frieden · Jul 6, 2026 · full quote
We must, therefore, act domestically. International agreements are the best solution, but in lieu of that, we must have our own domestic legislation.

Patricia Stephenson · Jun 17, 2026 · full quote

Arguments against

Ban is impractical

Opponents of a ban argue that outright prohibition is hard to define, may target systems that do not exist in the way campaigners describe, and is unlikely to stop development because the technology is already emerging and accessible. In this view, international discussion may be useful, but a ban would be symbolic, wasteful, or unenforceable.

As a humanitarian and a human rights attorney, I’m all for effective arms control, but effective means meaningful and enforceable. Given that lethal autonomy is essentially with us now, as many examples show, I don’t see how an effective arms control regime is possible.

Frank Kendall III · Jun 25, 2026 · full quote
To the second part of your question, I am strongly in favor of discussions internationally about things like norms. I think with this point, it would be counterproductive to have outright bans on things that people don't even fully understand what they mean when they say, "Ban th…

Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan · 2019 · full quote
“Here is one of the problems with the Campaign To Stop Killer Robots,” said former deputy defense secretary Robert Work. “They refer to ‘lethal autonomous weapons systems.’ […] They’re defining a weapon that is unsupervised or independent from human direction, unsupervised in its…

Robert O. Work · 2019 · full quote
The problem with this argument is that no letter, UN declaration, or even a formal ban ratified by multiple nations is going to prevent people from being able to build autonomous, weaponized robots. The barriers keeping people from developing this kind of system are just too low.…

Evan Ackerman · Jul 28, 2015 · full quote
The open letter signed by more than 12,000 prominent people calling for a ban on artificially intelligent killer robots, connected to arguments for a UN ban on the same, is misguided and perhaps even reckless. Wait, misguided? Reckless? Let me offer some context. I am a robotics…

Jai Galliott · 2015 · full quote
Those headlines were misleading. The letter doesn’t explicitly call for a ban, although one of the organizers has suggested it does. Rather, it offers technical advice to a UN committee on autonomous weapons formed in December. The group’s warning that autonomous machines “can be…

Tom Simonite · Aug 22, 2017 · full quote

Regulate people, not tools

Some critics say the law should focus on holding people accountable for abuses, regardless of the tools they employ, rather than trying to ban lethal autonomy itself. They favor safeguards, doctrine, training, standards, and lawful human-on-the-loop control as a more pragmatic way to constrain harm.

I believe there is a better and more pragmatic way to constrain human rights abuses than to ban lethal autonomy; it is to hold the responsible people accountable, regardless of the tools they employ.

Frank Kendall III · Jun 25, 2026 · full quote
I care a lot about civil society and the rule of law, including laws of armed conflict. Our policies are written around compliance with those laws. You don't enforce laws against machines; you enforce them against people. And I think our challenge is not to somehow limit what we …

Frank Kendall III · 2023 · full quote
I argue that regulation, rather than an outright ban, would likely be more effective in ensuring that FAWs comply with international law. This argument begins from the premise that the best approach to FAWs is the one most likely to reduce human suffering. I contend that FAWs ar…

John Lewis · 2015 · full quote
Artificial intelligence will continue to shape the battlespace of the future, and our military must be equipped with every tactical and technical advantage it needs to win in this complex environment. Simultaneously, we must ensure the Department of Defense has a comprehensive AI…

Jack Reed · Jun 8, 2026 · full quote
Closing it requires redesigning Army doctrine, organizations, and training to integrate LAWS into targeting under lawful human-on-the-loop control.

Michael J. Brodka · Jul 2026 · full quote

Autonomy may reduce harm

Another argument is that fast-moving warfare may require systems that can act without waiting for a human at every step, and that relying on humans when seconds matter could sometimes produce worse results. These quotes present autonomy or advanced automated functions as a possible way to gain tactical advantage and reduce collateral damage or lethal errors in some contexts.

It could actually work, whereas relying on humans in a very fast-moving seconds matter for warfare is probably going to lead to far worse results in terms of collateral damage.

David Omand · Jun 3, 2026 · full quote
For any military to compete effectively against other high-end militaries it is going to need a large amount of systems that will be required to take decisions on their own.

Nicholas Wright · Jun 3, 2026 · full quote
You must have the ability to take the human out of the loop when required.

Al Carns · Jun 3, 2026 · full quote
The United States has opposed calls to develop a ban and does not support opening negotiations, whether on a legally binding instrument or a political declaration, at this time. We must not be anti-technology and must be cautious not to make hasty judgments about emerging or futu…

United States Department of State · 2020 · full quote
I believe that now is the wrong time to be making decisions like this. Having the discussion is fine. But saying, “No, we’re not going to work on this” is wrong. First, we need to understand what’s possible. We can make a choice not to use what we develop - we have made choices l…

Gill Pratt · 2015 · full quote
For example, commanders can use precision-guided weapon systems with homing functions to reduce the risk of civilian casualties,

Roger M. Cabiness II · Aug 22, 2017 · full quote

Blanket ban is overbroad

This line of argument says a total prohibition does not distinguish adequately between high-risk anti-personnel systems and more narrowly bounded defensive or context-limited uses. Its proponents argue that the evidence presented against lethal autonomy does not justify a blanket ban across all cases.

A total prohibition on all autonomous weapons would likely fail to distinguish between high-risk anti-personnel systems and narrowly bounded defensive systems used against incoming missiles or munitions.

Edmarverson A. dos Santos · Jul 15, 2026 · full quote
This article argues that this abhorrence-based case fails to justify, with current evidence, a blanket prohibition.

Timothy Dubber · Jun 16, 2026 · full quote
Advocates of a ban on autonomous weapons often claim that the technology today isn’t good enough to discriminate reliably between civilian and military targets, and therefore can’t comply with the laws of war. In some situations, that’s true. For others, it’s less clear. Over 30 …

Michael C. Horowitz · 2015 · full quote
If a human is able to take that responsibility upon themselves, that they know there will be no friendlies, no bystanders in this area, then that type of mission is possible.

Alex Fink · Jun 3, 2026 · full quote

Middle ground

Prohibit uncontrolled systems

A narrower position in the quotes would absolutely prohibit weapons that select and engage human targets without meaningful human control, while treating other autonomous weapons as candidates for binding regulation rather than total prohibition. This approach emphasizes context-appropriate human judgment, design limits, and genuine human responsibility.

Autonomous weapons that select and engage human targets without meaningful human control must be prohibited absolutely, and all other autonomous weapons must be subject to binding regulation.

The Global AI Accord · Jul 5, 2026 · full quote
The Government strongly believes that there is a need to maintain meaningful human control of all weapons systems, including any systems that may be developed. Our position is that, for such systems to comply with international humanitarian law, context-specific and value-based j…

Catherine Ardagh · Jun 17, 2026 · full quote
It is important for our delegation to retain the reference to human control and we are in favor of the emphasis that context-appropriate human judgement and control are needed in the use and effects of LAWS to uphold compliance with international law, specifically IHL.

Government of the Philippines · Mar 6, 2026 · full quote
The exercise of human judgement and control is strengthened by setting boundaries and limitations to the development and employment of LAWS.

AutoPractices · Mar 3, 2026 · full quote
In France, the choice of the "human-in-the-loop" principle imposes major engineering constraints on our engineers to ensure genuine human responsibility and operational risk assessment.

Bertrand Rondepierre · Jul 10, 2026 · full quote

The quotes show broad concern about preserving human responsibility over lethal force, but deep disagreement over whether that requires a categorical ban or a more selective regime of safeguards and accountability. Supporters describe lethal autonomy without human control as a moral and legal red line demanding binding prohibition, while opponents question whether an outright ban is workable or desirable in fast-moving combat and favor narrower controls.

Cast your vote:

Results (158 votes):

Total (158 votes)

For 119 (75%) Abstain 2 (1%) Against 37 (23%)

For (114)

Government of Liberia
National government of the Republic of Liberia, represented in international forums by its official delegations.

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votes For and says:

Decisions involving the use of lethal force, the deprivation of human life, and the escalation of conflict must never be abdicated to autonomous algorithms. Meaningful human control and accountability remain the non-negotiable bedrock of internationa...
more AI Verified source (Sep 23, 2026)

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Hirotsugu Terasaki
Chief Executive Director of the Soka Gakkai International Peace Center.

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votes For and says:

While we continue to work toward a world free from both nuclear weapons and autonomous killing machines, we welcome the focus in the ongoing negotiations on ensuring ‘meaningful human control’ over autonomous weapons.
AI Verified source (Jul 23, 2026)

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Elke Schwarz
Political theorist researching the ethics of war and emerging military technologies.

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votes For and says:

Large language models simply shouldn’t be used for targeting, since they will inevitably hallucinate and contribute to civilian harm.
AI Verified source (Jul 21, 2026)

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Annelie Lotriet
South African Member of Parliament and representative to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, speaking on autonomous weapons systems and international humanitarian law.

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votes For and says:

We must define the scope and parameters of autonomous weapons in a manner that safeguards against their development and holds those in violation accountable.
AI Verified source (Jul 21, 2026)

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Naveed Shah
Political Director of Common Defense and U.S. Army veteran.

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votes For and says:

As an Army veteran who served in Iraq, I know the moral responsibility that comes with taking human life in combat, decisions that must never be handed over to machines.
AI Verified source (Jul 17, 2026) 1 of 2

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Don Beyer
U.S. Representative from Virginia's 8th district; co-sponsor of the GUARDRAILS Act on AI

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votes For and says:

No machine should ever be given the power to decide to kill a human being on its own. Allowing AI systems to independently select and engage targets carries serious risks; machines cannot understand morality or the value of human life, nor can they b...
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Tom Barrett
U.S. Representative for Michigan's 7th congressional district.

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votes For and says:

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly critical role in strengthening our national defense, but it should never be the one making life-or-death decisions.
AI Verified source (Jul 17, 2026) 1 of 4

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Sara Jacobs
U.S. Representative from California's 51st congressional district

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votes For and says:

AI mistakes on the battlefield have the potential to be catastrophic: civilian casualties, friendly fire, unintended escalation, and calculations made on faulty data. These aren’t risks worth taking – not when they can result in unnecessary lives los...
more AI Verified source (Jul 17, 2026) 1 of 2

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Nick Mottern
Co-coordinator of the Weaponized Drone Ban Treaty Campaign and peace activist.

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votes For and says:

We are calling for a treaty to remove all weapons from drones, rather than to ban drones controlled autonomously by AI. This is because all militaries will claim that there will always be a human in ultimate control of AI-augmented drones in spite of...
more AI Verified source (Jul 16, 2026)

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David Swanson
Campaign coordinator for RootsAction and peace activist focused on war abolition and disarmament.

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votes For and says:

Dozens of national governments have already stated their support for banning autonomous weapons, and dozens of others expressed their inclination to support such a ban. So, a treaty could be established among those nations, on the model of the recent...
more AI Verified source (Jul 16, 2026)

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Cardinal Baldo Reina
Vicar General of Rome and Cardinal Vicar of the Diocese of Rome.

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votes For and says:

No machine, no algorithm, and no autonomous system can be placed at the center of decisions upon which the survival of humanity depends. Decisions concerning life and death, peace and war, and the future of peoples and generations yet to come must re...
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Simon Adams
Professor of Human Rights at Murdoch University and former President and CEO of the Center for Victims of Torture.

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votes For and says:

Killer robots are a horror that belongs in science fiction. There is nothing more sinister than outsourcing killing and warfighting to emotionless, faceless machines that will select which humans get to live or die. Lethal autonomous weapons systems ...
more AI Verified source (Jul 16, 2026)

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António Guterres
UN Secretary-General

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votes For and says:

Transferring the decision-making to killer robots would be morally repugnant and politically unacceptable.
AI Verified source (Jul 15, 2026) 1 of 6

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Alex Turner
AI safety researcher and former Google DeepMind research scientist.

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votes For and says:

I resigned from Google DeepMind bc it broke its founding promise by selling AI to the military without restrictions against killer robots or mass spying. For months, I worked to stop this but watched powerful ethicists and institutions choose silenc...
more Verified source (Jul 15, 2026)

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Daryl G. Kimball
Executive Director of the Arms Control Association; arms-control and nuclear-risk policy expert.

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votes For and says:

The international community should adopt binding rules requiring human oversight of autonomous weapons systems and strict compliance with applicable international law at all times.
AI Verified source (Jul 14, 2026)

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Bertrand Rondepierre
Director of France's Ministerial Agency for Defense Artificial Intelligence (AMIAD).

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votes For and says:

In France, the choice of the "human-in-the-loop" principle imposes major engineering constraints on our engineers to ensure genuine human responsibility and operational risk assessment.
AI Verified source (Jul 10, 2026)

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Archbishop Ettore Balestrero
Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva.

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votes For and says:

Indeed, since full moral causality belongs only to personal agents and not to artificial ones, if AI is to be used to uphold human dignity and truly serve the common good, responsibility for its use must remain with human decision-makers, with accoun...
more AI Verified source (Jul 7, 2026)

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Elizabeth Warren
U.S. Senator (D-MA)

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votes For and says:

DoD has a strategic, legal, and moral responsibility to ensure that AI technology is deployed with meaningful constraints to comply with U.S. and international laws, including by preventing civilian harm.
AI Verified source (Jul 7, 2026)

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Mustafa Al-Maryani
Iraqi Minister of Communications who addressed the UN Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance in July 2026.

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votes For and says:

We need to make sure that AI is only a tool for life, not a tool for developing lethal weapons which would threaten international peace and security.
AI Verified source (Jul 7, 2026)

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Halla Tómasdóttir
President of Iceland.

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votes For and says:

We must not normalize a future in which human beings delegate the irreversible decision to take a human life to a machine. Meaningful human responsibility must remain where the stakes are highest.
AI Verified source (Jul 7, 2026)

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Luc Frieden
Prime Minister of Luxembourg

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votes For and says:

As AI integrates into defence systems and the conduct of warfare, human judgement and responsibility must never be surrendered in decisions over life or death. This is why I believe that wherever voluntary principles fall short, we must be prepared t...
more AI Verified source (Jul 6, 2026)

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The Global AI Accord
Independent, non-commercial consultation text proposing binding international governance of artificial intelligence.

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votes For and says:

Autonomous weapons that select and engage human targets without meaningful human control must be prohibited absolutely, and all other autonomous weapons must be subject to binding regulation.
AI Verified source (Jul 5, 2026)

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Daniela Amodei
President and co-founder of Anthropic.

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votes For and says:

The reason we chose fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance as the areas where we simply can't say yes is because the technology is so new that we do not believe the laws may be perfectly designed to account for how the technology cou...
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Ilhan Omar
U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district.

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votes For and says:

Omar #1302 clarifies that the Department of Defense's policy requiring human oversight of AI-enabled weapons applies to determining, tracking, engaging, and targeting decisions.
AI Verified source (Jun 30, 2026)

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Fiona O'Loughlin
Irish Senator and Fianna Fáil representative who addressed international regulation of lethal autonomous weapons.

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votes For and says:

It is important to affirm Ireland's long-standing position that the use of autonomous weapons systems to identify, select and engage targets without any or nominal human involvement is fundamentally incompatible with international humanitarian law an...
more AI Verified source (Jun 17, 2026)

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Patricia Stephenson
Irish Senator and public official who supported domestic and international restrictions on autonomous weapons.

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votes For and says:

We must, therefore, act domestically. International agreements are the best solution, but in lieu of that, we must have our own domestic legislation.
AI Verified source (Jun 17, 2026)

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Against (36)

Edmarverson A. dos Santos
Author of a 2026 policy brief on international-law rules, treaty design, and human control for autonomous weapons.

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votes Against and says:

A total prohibition on all autonomous weapons would likely fail to distinguish between high-risk anti-personnel systems and narrowly bounded defensive systems used against incoming missiles or munitions.
AI Verified source (Jul 15, 2026)

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Michael J. Brodka
U.S. Army major and author writing on lethal autonomous weapon systems and military targeting.

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votes Against and says:

Closing it requires redesigning Army doctrine, organizations, and training to integrate LAWS into targeting under lawful human-on-the-loop control.
AI Verified source (Jul 2026)

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Keir Starmer
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

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votes Against and says:

And we are backing this by putting more than £5 billion into drones and autonomous weapons—the largest ever UK investment in this technology.
AI Verified source (Jun 30, 2026)

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Frank Kendall III
Former U.S. Air Force Secretary

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votes Against and says:

As a humanitarian and a human rights attorney, I’m all for effective arms control, but effective means meaningful and enforceable. Given that lethal autonomy is essentially with us now, as many examples show, I don’t see how an effective arms control...
more AI Verified source (Jun 25, 2026) 1 of 5

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