Ban autonomous lethal weapons

For (30)

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  Mirjana Spoljaric Egger

  President of the International Committee of the Red Cross

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  votes For and says:

  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 unde... more Verified source (2025)

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  Pope Francis

  Leader of the Catholic Church

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  votes For and says:

  in light of the tragedy that is armed conflict, it is urgent to reconsider the development and use of devices like the so-called ‘lethal autonomous weapons’ and ultimately ban their use. This starts from an effective and concrete commitment to introd... more Verified source (2024)

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  Max Tegmark

  Physicist, AI Researcher

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  votes For and says:

  It opens up entirely new possibilities for things that you can do—where you can go into battle or do a terrorist attack with zero risk to yourself, and you can also do it anonymously, because if some drones show up and start killing people somewhere ... more Verified source (2015)

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  António Guterres

  UN Secretary-General

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  votes For and says:

  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 p... more Verified source (2025)

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  Gen. Paul J. Selva

  Former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs

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  votes For and says:

  I don't think it's reasonable for us to put robots in charge of whether or not we take a human life. [...] I was "an advocate for keeping that restriction." Humans needed to remain in the decision making process "because we take our values to war." Unverified source (2017)

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  Christof Heyns

  South African human rights law scholar

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  votes For and says:

  It is obviously gratifying to see one’s research having an impact. At the same time, it should be recognised that we have a long way to go before there will be a complete ban, as I and many others have called for. This is an immensely complicated iss... more Unverified source (2018)

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  Alan F. T. Winfield

  Professor of Robot Ethics, UWE Bristol

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  votes For and says:

  The second reason I think it’s a bad idea is if the robot-with-a-gun is not remotely controlled by a human but ‘autonomous’. Of course there are serious ethical and legal problems with this, like who is responsible if the robot makes a mistake and sh... more Unverified source

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  Mark Coeckelbergh

  Philosopher, AI ethics scholar

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  votes For and says:

  There are more problems with fully autonomous weapons, but the conclusion is clear to me: while they have some advantages, their use is ethically highly problematic in many ways. Therefore, we should not use them and perhaps ban them. Based on the mo... more Unverified source (2018)

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  Yoshua Bengio

  AI Pioneer, Turing Award winner

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  votes For and says:

  This risk should further motivate us to redesign the global political system in a way that would completely eradicate wars and thus obviate the need for military organizations and military weapons. [...] It goes without saying that lethal autonomous... more Unverified source (2023)

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  Izumi Nakamitsu

  UN disarmament chief

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  votes For and says:

  The Secretary-General has always said that using machines with fully delegated power, making a decision to take human life is just simply morally repugnant. It should not be allowed. It should be, in fact, banned by international law. That's the Unit... more Unverified source (2025)

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  Alyn Smith

  Scottish MP; foreign affairs lead

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  votes For and says:

  The developments in Artificial Intelligence and facial recognition technologies, as well as other related technologies, could remove that human element from the control of these weapons altogether. They should be banned. They should be banned pre-emp... more Unverified source (2020)

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  Holy See

  The Vatican’s sovereign entity

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  votes For and says:

  Autonomous Weapon Systems, which are capable of identifying and attacking targets without direct human intervention, are a “cause for grave ethical concern” because they lack the “unique human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making.”... more Unverified source (2025)

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  Alexander Schallenberg

  Austria’s foreign minister and diplomat

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  votes For and says:

  Rapid technological advances raise fundamental legal, moral and security questions. No more so than lethal autonomous weapons systems. This is not science fiction. It is fast becoming a reality – a reality that the Secretary-General of the UN has rig... more Unverified source (2021)

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  Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (Austria)

  Austria’s foreign ministry (press office)

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  votes For and says:

  What greater attack on human rights and human dignity could there be than allowing an algorithm to make life‑or‑death decisions? Human rights and humanitarian international law are our compass; they must continue to focus on people, not on machines. ... more Unverified source (2021)

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  Ian R. Kerr

  Canada Research Chair in Tech Ethics

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  votes For and says:

  Although engaged citizens sign petitions everyday, it is not often that captains of industry, scientists and technologists call for prohibitions on innovation of any sort — let alone an outright ban. The ban is an important signifier. Even if it is s... more Unverified source (2015)

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  Frank Sauer

  Senior research fellow, Bundeswehr University

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  votes For and says:

  The point of a preemptive treaty is to prevent future harm and with all the dangers and concerns associated with fully autonomous weapons, it would be irresponsible to take a “wait and see” approach and only try to deal with the issue after the harm ... more Unverified source (2016)

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  Denise Garcia

  Professor of international affairs, Northeastern

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  votes For and says:

  Instead, Washington should take the lead in drafting a new, international agreement to ban killer robots and regulate other kinds of autonomous systems. There is no better time to push for such a prohibition than next week, on May 13, when 117 countr... more Unverified source (2014)

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  Amnesty International

  Human rights NGO

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  votes For and says:

  Ban the development, transfer, deployment and use of fully autonomous weapons systems. Verified source (2020)

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  International Committee for Robot Arms Control

  NGO on autonomous weapons policy

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  votes For and says:

  to prohibit the development, testing, production and use of autonomous weapon systems in all circumstances. Unverified source (2014)

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  Human Rights Watch

  Global human rights advocacy organization

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  votes For and says:

  Governments should pre-emptively ban fully autonomous weapons. Unverified source (2012)

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  Jody Williams

  Nobel Peace laureate; landmine-ban advocate

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  votes For and says:

  Killer robots loom over our future if we do not take action to ban them now, Unverified source (2013)

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  Stuart J. Russell

  AI Expert and Professor

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  votes For and says:

  A treaty banning autonomous weapons would prevent large-scale manufacturing of the technology. Unverified source (2017)

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  Peter Asaro

  New School professor; ICRAC co-founder

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  votes For and says:

  We have been working for the past seven years now trying to get an international treaty to prohibit fully autonomous weapons systems of this nature. Unverified source (2020)

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  Campaign to Stop Killer Robots

  Coalition to ban killer robots

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  votes For and says:

  agree to start negotiating a preemptive ban on fully autonomous weapons, Unverified source (2016)

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  European Parliament

  EU legislative body

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  votes For and says:

  Weapons without meaningful human control over selecting and attacking targets should be banned before it is too late, stressed MEPs on Wednesday. Unverified source (2018)

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  Mark Gubrud

  Physicist, UNC adjunct, arms-control advocate

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  votes For and says:

  That is why I believe we need to ban them as fast and as hard as we possibly can. Unverified source (2016)

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  Toby Walsh

  Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence

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  votes For and says:

  We must add autonomous weapons to the list of weapons that are morally unacceptable to use. Unverified source (2017)

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  Noel Sharkey

  Emeritus AI and robotics professor

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  votes For and says:

  It is clear that the rational approach to the inhumanity of automating death by machine is to prohibit it. Unverified source (2012)

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  Wendell Wallach

  Bioethicist and AI governance expert

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  votes For and says:

  We need a law to ban autonomous robots from killing people on their own initiative. For example, in 2013, the Northrop Grumman X-47B, a prototype sub-sonic aircraft with two bomb compartments and a 62-foot wingspan, autonomously took off from and la... more Unverified source (2015)

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  Bonnie Docherty

  Human rights lawyer and scholar

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  votes For and says:

  The next revolution in warfare threatens to undermine fundamental principles of morality and law. Fully autonomous weapons, already under development in a number of countries, would have the power to select targets and fire on them without meaningful... more Unverified source (2018)

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Abstain (0)

Against (24)

• 

  Mary L. Cummings

  Robotics and AI policy scholar

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  votes Against and says:

  There has been increasing debate over the use of autonomous weapons in the military, whether they should be banned for offensive uses, and even whether such technologies threaten human existence. As a former fighter pilot for the U.S. Navy, but also ... more Unverified source (2019)

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  Evan Ackerman

  IEEE Spectrum robotics senior editor

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  votes Against and says:

  We’re not going to be able to prevent autonomous armed robots from existing. The real question that we should be asking is this: Could autonomous armed robots perform better than armed humans in combat, resulting in fewer casualties on both sides? T... more Unverified source (2015)

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  Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan

  Former JAIC director, USAF general

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  votes Against and says:

  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 th... more Unverified source (2019)

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  Christopher Jenks

  SMU law professor, LOAC expert

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  votes Against and says:

  Unrealistic, belated and short-sighted, and ignores mankind's frailties. I am not advocating their use, but I object to an outright ban. […] At a minimum, it's at least possible that at some point in the not-too-distant future LARs may be able to bet... more Unverified source (2013)

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  United States Department of State

  U.S. foreign affairs department

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  votes Against and says:

  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 ju... more Unverified source (2020)

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  Gill Pratt

  Roboticist; Toyota Research Institute CEO

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  votes Against and says:

  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 de... more Unverified source (2015)

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  Joshua Dorosin

  U.S. State Dept. deputy legal adviser

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  votes Against and says:

  We believe it is premature to enter into negotiations on a legally binding instrument, a political declaration, a code of conduct, or other similar instrument, and we cannot support a mandate to enter into such negotiations. Unverified source (2018)

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  Robert O. Work

  Former U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary

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  votes Against and says:

  “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 ... more Unverified source (2019)

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  Jai Galliott

  Robotics researcher and philosopher

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  votes Against and says:

  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... more Unverified source (2015)

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  Kelsey D. Atherton

  Defense technology journalist

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  votes Against and says:

  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 t... more Unverified source (2017)

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  Maciej Zając

  Philosopher and technology ethicist

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  votes Against and says:

  I argue that enacting a global ban would be both unnecessary and insufficient for avoiding or meaningfully limiting AWS proliferation to actors willing to use them as weapons of subjugation and terror. It would be unnecessary because banning high-end... more Unverified source (2025)

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  Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer

  French security policy scholar

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  votes Against and says:

  Those who reply that to delegate firing at targets to a machine is on principle unacceptable are begging the question. They do not define the “human dignity” they invoke, nor do they explain how exactly it is violated. Regarding the Martens Clause, i... more Unverified source (2015)

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  Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)

  France’s foreign ministry

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  votes Against and says:

  At first, lethal autonomous weapons systems that cannot guarantee use in conformity with international humanitarian law — that is, systems that are intrinsically indiscriminate; systems whose effects cannot be limited, anticipated and controlled; sys... more Unverified source (2025)

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  Roger Cabiness

  Pentagon public affairs spokesperson

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  votes Against and says:

  The U.S. Department of Defense has a policy to keep a “human in the loop” when deploying lethal force. […] “For example, commanders can use precision‑guided weapon systems with homing functions to reduce the risk of civilian casualties,” said Cabines... more Unverified source (2017)

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  Michael C. Horowitz

  Political scientist; former DoD official

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  votes Against and says:

  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 oth... more Unverified source (2015)

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  Kathleen McKendrick

  British Army officer; Chatham House fellow

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  votes Against and says:

  Thus, a prohibition on the development and use of lethal autonomous weapons systems is not the simple solution it appears to be. Unverified source (2018)

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  Greg Allen

  AI and defense policy analyst

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  votes Against and says:

  “You are unlikely to achieve a full ban of autonomous weapons,” he says. Unverified source (2017)

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  Paul Scharre

  CNAS executive and weapons expert

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  votes Against and says:

  Even worse, the proposed solution—a legally binding treaty banning autonomous weapons—won't solve the real problems humanity faces as autonomy advances in weapons. Unverified source (2017)

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  Kenneth Anderson

  American University law professor, jurist

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  votes Against and says:

  a categorical ban on AWS is unjustified morally and legally Unverified source (2017)

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  Ronald C. Arkin

  Robotics professor, Georgia Tech

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  votes Against and says:

  these efforts should not be prematurely terminated by a preemptive ban. Unverified source (2015)

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  Steven Groves

  Heritage Foundation fellow

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  votes Against and says:

  The United States should oppose attempts at the CCW to ban LAWS, Unverified source (2015)

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  Subbarao Kambhampati

  ASU computer science professor; ex-AAAI president

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  votes Against and says:

  But a ban is not the solution – neither is inflaming the public with dystopian visions of the future. Unverified source (2017)

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  Government of the United Kingdom

  United Kingdom central government

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  votes Against and says:

  The UK remains fully committed to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Under the UK’s chairmanship in 2017, High Contracting Parties agreed essential financial reforms. But the Convention will only become financially stable if all High Con... more Unverified source (2018)

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  National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence

  U.S. federal advisory commission

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  votes Against and says:

  World military powers both large and small are pursuing artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled and autonomous weapon systems. Such systems have the potential to help commanders make faster, better, and more relevant decisions. They will enable weapon s... more Unverified source (2021)

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