Publié le 01/12/2014
Jean-Baptiste JEANGENE VILMER

Automatic lethal weapon systems are under debate and certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are demanding their precautionary prohibition.

However, the notion of autonomy is very complex: there is no weapon system that operates entirely without human intervention. On a moral level and with regard to international humanitarian law, these systems do not pose problems that are very different from other weapons already in use. It therefore seems preferable to regulate them rather than prohibit them a priori.

 

Article published in Politique étrangère, Vol. 79, No. 4, Winter 2014 [1]