The Department is developing its plans to implement its Defence AI Strategy, to address broader strategic issues arising from the Integrated Review. We will work with partners to mitigate the potential impacts of AI, including its proliferation, misuse and potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation.

Particularly relevant fora include the UN-brokered discussions under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), AI Partnership for Defence and NATO; as well as broader discussions on the development of AI within the Global Partnership on AI, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. Compliance with International Humanitarian Law will remain at the core of our current and future standards, which will be rigorously applied to all AI use in Defence.

MOD officials and Military colleagues are currently exploring processes for the delivery of the approaches set out in the Ambitious, Safe, Responsible policy. This will include a consideration of AI across the system lifecycle, including further elaboration of the concept of 'context appropriate human involvement'.

With respect to the acceptability of particular weapons, the Additional Protocol 1 (AP 1), Article 36 of the Geneva Convention 1977, requires States to determine whether new weapons, means or methods of warfare may be employed lawfully under International Law. The United Kingdom takes this obligation very seriously, and UK weapon reviews are undertaken by serving military lawyers on the staff of the Development Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC). This assessment will then be fed into usage instructions and authorities on particular systems to ensure that the parameters of lawful and responsible use are fully understood in any particular case.

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.

The internal regulation and governance of standards for AI use in Defence are currently subject to extensive work across the Department. Officials and military colleagues are developing frameworks to assess risk and ensure compliance, across the full spectrum of AI functionality.

Key aspects of this will include requiring Front-Line Commands and equivalent organisations within Defence to appoint 'Accountable Officers' ensuring oversight for AI activity and developing the capacity of the Defence Artificial Intelligence Centre to provide technical oversight and coordinated advice to all units across Defence. We are exploring how the Defence Safety Authority will consider AI within the wider issues across its current remit as the existing independent safety regulator.

While Defence is committed to be as transparent as possible about our use of AI technologies, there are no plans at present to publish an annual list of all AI defence programmes due to practical and security reasons.

Defence understands AI as a family of general-purpose technologies with ubiquitous potential applications from the back office to the battlespace. We will publish an AI 'concept playbook" later this year to help partners to understand the areas of Research and Development that we intend to prioritise. However, it is important to understand that in most cases AI will be an enabler for a broader system or capability (e.g. supporting more informed logistics planning) not a capability programme in itself.

Given the range of potential applications, it would not be practical to label and track all sub-elements of projects underway across Defence that include Autonomy or AI. Moreover, in some cases it would not be appropriate to disclose details of Defence capability programmes for security reasons.

The Defence AI Strategy (published on 15 June 2022), set out our clear commitment to use AI safely, lawfully and ethically in line with the standards, values and norms of the society we serve. This is critical to promote confidence and trust among our people, our partners and the general public.

We will deliver this commitment through a range of robust people, process and technology measures, including: embedding our AI Ethics Principles throughout the entire capability lifecycle; independent scrutiny and challenge from our AI Ethics Advisory Panel; training to ensure our people understand and can appropriately mitigate AI-related risks; publishing as much information as possible about key safeguards (such as our approach to Test and Evaluation); specifying (including through Early Market Engagement) how and why we will utilise algorithms and applications; and ensuring there are effective pathways for individuals to raise ethical or safety concerns.

As we implement these commitments from the AI Strategy - and the associated 'Ambitious, Safe, Responsible' policy - Defence will continue to be outward facing, working with colleagues across the AI and technology industry to understand concerns and identify and embed best practice safeguards.

Our position on fully autonomous weapon systems is clear and unchanged. The UK does not possess fully autonomous weapon systems and has no intention of developing them.

When deploying autonomous weapon systems we will always ensure meaningful and context-appropriate human involvement across the system lifecycle from development to deployment, ensuring human responsibility for outcomes.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to developing and deploying AI-enabled systems responsibly and promoting responsible use worldwide.

The UK will work with allies and partners to address the issue of proliferation of advanced military technologies such as AI-enabled autonomous capabilities. This will include reinforcement of the disarmament and export control regimes, treaties and organisations; development of the means of preventing AI proliferation or misuse; and monitoring the risks of AI exacerbating existing counter-proliferation and arms control challenges. This will ensure that the opportunities gained from the development and integration of new technologies are balanced with appropriate controls.

The Defence AI Strategy is in the final stages of review. We expect to publish the strategy in spring 2022. This Strategy has been informed by consultations with key AI industry leaders, UK academia, and our Allies.

We regularly engage with a wide range of stakeholders on lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), including those - such as the International Committee of the Red Cross - that believe a new legally binding instrument on LAWS is necessary. The UK does not support calls for a legally binding instrument on LAWS. Our view remains that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) provides a robust, principle-based framework for the regulation of weapons development and use, and we will continue to engage at the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons seeking to clarify the prohibitions and positive obligations around the use of autonomous weapon systems under IHL.

The deployment in armed conflict of any weapon system - including one with autonomous functions - which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians would be contrary to International Humanitarian LAW (IHL) and therefore unlawful. We strongly believe that AI and autonomy within weapon systems can and must be used lawfully and ethically. Autonomous systems have the potential to support the better application of IHL by improving the evidence, analysis and timeliness of decision making.

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) remains the appropriate forum to address the challenges associated with the use of autonomy in weapon systems. The CCW Review Conference renewed the mandate of the Group of Government Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) and the UK will continue to play an active role in it, working with the international community to agree norms and positive obligations to ensure the safe and responsible use of autonomy.

My Lords, the UK is an active participant in United Nations discussions on lethal autonomous weapons systems, working with partners to build norms to ensure safe and responsible use of autonomy. The UK and our partners are unconvinced by the calls for a further binding instrument. International humanitarian law provides a robust principle-based framework for the regulation of weapons deployment and use. A focus on effects is most effective in dealing with complex systems in conflict.