Nearly 130 countries agreed on Saturday on a text defining lethal autonomous weapons systems, commonly referred to as killer robots by critics. This represents a first step toward talks on a possible international treaty to regulate such weapons. The Netherlands, which oversaw the negotiations, announced the agreement through Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen.
Countries are already developing and using weapons capable of selecting targets and applying force without human intervention. The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that the unconstrained development and use of such systems poses serious legal, ethical and humanitarian challenges. The ICRC and several campaign groups have called for internationally binding rules to restrict their use.
However, advocacy groups following the talks have already criticized leading countries for not moving quickly enough. Stop Killer Robots, an international alliance of campaign groups, accused the United States, Russia and their allies of attempting to weaken the agreed text. The group said the United States, Russia, India and Israel are among the key opponents of negotiations, while Brazil, Ireland and Norway are leading efforts to begin formal discussions in November.
UN member states will decide in November whether to move toward an international treaty regulating autonomous weapons systems.
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