UN and Red Cross press for treaty as AI weapons gain power to choose targets

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross say weapons with increasing autonomy no longer exist solely in the realm of science fiction. 

Now that systems enabled with artificial intelligence are capable of selecting targets, the groups are warning that global safeguards are falling behind the technology. 

They're renewing a push to impose limits before it's too late.

Here's what to know

In a joint appeal on August 25, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the Red Cross reissued their three-year-old call for a global treaty on autonomous weapons systems. The U.N. and Red Cross say that AI-enabled software and drone technology used in these systems have advanced quickly.

"Scientists and engineers developing these systems have themselves raised the alarm," Guterres and the Red Cross said in the appeal. "When the architects of this technology are calling for limits, States cannot afford to remain passive. This year must mark a turning point."

For years — and long before wider public knowledge of AI capabilities — concern has been growing over technologies intended to reduce human involvement and decision-making in weapons deployment. That includes unpiloted drones, robotic sentries, and AI-enabled targeting, designed to further distance military staff and authorities from the attacks they initiate.

Supporters of the tech say it may reduce fatalities and prove economical. But veterans and antiwar advocates say the distance is part of a growing danger.

They argue that as killing becomes more remote, authorizing violence can become easier and its human consequences may become harder for the public to fully grasp. There is also the potential for the technology to introduce grievous errors that go undetected in the absence of human oversight.

More background

AI-assisted and autonomous weapons are already being used in military operations, even as legal and ethical safeguards lag behind. 

Matt Howard, interim organizing director at the antiwar veterans group About Face, recently told Truthout there has already "been a deep cost for people involved in those programs, both in terms of moral injury and trauma."

AI also has a deep connection to the energy grid. It may be used to help utilities balance electricity demand, improve battery storage, and integrate more solar and wind power. At the same time, training and running large AI systems requires enormous amounts of energy, water, and data center infrastructure, which can strain local grids and raise costs while posing potential security risks if the technology is misused.

It's a complex issue with very serious consequences, which is why who controls this powerful tech, how much oversight exists, and whether the public can have a meaningful say in whether it even wants such tools used are all crucial topics to address.

What's being done?

Rather than continuing what they described as "incremental discussions," the U.N. and Red Cross are pressing countries to negotiate binding international rules. They want more than voluntary guidance, aiming to clear prohibitions and restrictions on weapons that could function with too little human judgment.

Groups such as the Stop Killer Robots campaign are also calling for guardrails against what they describe as "digital dehumanization." They say that threat is becoming more urgent as militaries and defense contractors pour investment into AI systems, allowing algorithms to make life-or-death choices that could spiral out of control, threatening lives and potentially starting wars.

As veteran and activist Rory Fanning told Truthout, "Killing another human being is the most unnatural thing in the world to do, and the only way it can be done is creating distance between the person who is killing and the person who is dying."

Fanning is a strong advocate of a global ban on autonomous weapons systems, which he believes will not only save lives but also preserve our humanity.

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