US and Russia Cut Human Review of AI Targets From Draft UN Weapons Text
The deleted clause would have required a person to check an AI-generated target before a strike, weeks before states decide whether to open treaty talks.
The deleted clause would have required a person to check an AI-generated target before a strike, weeks before states decide whether to open treaty talks.
US and Russian diplomats stripped a requirement for human review of AI-generated targets from a draft UN text on lethal autonomous weapons, the Washington Post reported on Sept. 26, citing three people familiar with the Geneva talks and documents it reviewed.
The two delegations also deleted language requiring the weapons to operate "predictably" and "reliably" and a clause mandating ethical considerations. The text belongs to the Group of Governmental Experts under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which met Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 and decides by consensus.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the US and Russia remove from the UN draft?
A provision requiring humans to review AI-generated military targets before a strike, plus language requiring the weapons to operate predictably and reliably and a clause on ethical considerations, the Washington Post reported.
Where and when did this happen?
At the CCW Group of Governmental Experts on lethal autonomous weapons in Geneva, Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, during roughly 15 hours of closed talks on the final day, according to the Post's sources.
Is the text legally binding?
No. The Geneva process produces a nonbinding text. A record 76 states back turning it into a treaty, according to Human Rights Watch.
What happens next?
States meet for the CCW Seventh Review Conference in Geneva from Nov. 16 to 20 to decide whether formal treaty negotiations begin.
What is the US doing with its own rules?
A June national security memorandum ordered the Pentagon to update Directive 3000.09, the 2023 rule requiring human judgment over autonomous weapons, within 90 days. No revision had been released by late September, the Post reported.
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Marcus Schuler
Marcus Schuler edits BattlePolicy, a daily defense-technology brief connecting the companies and capabilities behind modern war to the contest among Europe, the US, Russia, and China.