Written question asked by Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 5 September 2022, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 20 September 2022. It was answered by Baroness Goldie (Conservative) on Tuesday, 20 September 2022 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
Autonomous Weapons
- Question
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To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence on 18 July (HC Deb col 688) that "autonomy is increasingly the key to the successful generation of overwhelming force in the battle space" and that "a more lethal force—even a bigger force—does not necessarily acquire more workforce in the future", what assessment they have made of (1) the compatibility of these remarks with the answer by Baroness Goldie on 1 November 2021 (HL Deb, col 995) that "UK Armed Forces do not use systems that employ lethal force without context-appropriate human involvement", and (2) the implications of these remarks for risks of strategic instability.
- Answer
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AI may not inherently reduce workforce requirements, but it is likely to change the activities we need people to undertake. Across the workforce, AI and autonomous systems offer opportunities to remove people from ‘dull, dirty and dangerous’ tasks. This will enable us to focus our people on those areas where they can add particular value, in the context of Human Machine Teams. Machines are good at doing things right; people are good at doing the right things, and context-appropriate human involvement will be essential for the ethical and legal use of AI-enabled weapon systems. We strongly believe that such systems can and must be used lawfully and ethically, and we will promote security and stability by working closely with allies and partners to build consensus, promote a common vision for the safe, responsible and ethical use of these technologies globally, and push for compliance with International Humanitarian Law.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- HL2089
- Session
- 2022-23
- Related items
- Subjects
- Autonomous weapons
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2022-09-20 17:32:08 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2022-23/HL2089
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