Statement by Commodore Nishant Kumar, Director (D&ISA) during the first session of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) on November 13, 2017
Mr. Chairman,
It is indeed an honour for India to see you chairing the first session of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). We are also particularly pleased that a representative from the NAM is chairing this session. We appreciate the work done by Ambassador Jean-Hughes Simon-Michel of France and Ambassador Michael Biontino of Germany during the informal meetings held over the last three years on this subject.
2. We welcome the fact that the first session of the GGE is taking place, while regretting that its duration had to be cut short from the mandated two weeks. We sincerely hope that the mandate of the GGE will be renewed for next year for two weeks so that we can maintain the momentum and continue to discuss this complex and challenging issue in full detail.
3. We are heartened by the participation at the GGE, including experts from capitals as well as representatives from civil society, industry associations, academia and non-governmental organisations. The broad and diverse participation, the number of Working Papers submitted by several countries, the activity on social media on this topic - all testify to the keen interest that this subject has evoked across the board.
Mr. Chairman,
4. The growing and ever-expanding civilian applications of emerging technologies related to lethal autonomous weapons systems add to the complexity of our work. Several countries today are employing AI to tackle economic and social challenges. India, for one, has recently set up a Task Force on ‘AI for India’s Economic Transformation’, bringing together government and industry representatives as well as researchers and academicians, to submit concrete recommendations.
5. Driven by the rapid progress in AI research and innovation, we will see intelligent machines influence large parts of our lives in the future. At the same time, these technologies raise legal, technical and ethical concerns in both civilian and military domains.
Mr. Chairman,
6. My delegation remains convinced that the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) is the relevant forum to address the issue of the possible expansion of the autonomous dimension of lethal weapons systems, not least because of the fine balance the Convention seeks to strike between humanitarian concerns and military necessity but also because it provides a dynamic and adaptive platform bringing together multiple stake-holders. Further, we believe that addressing this issue within the framework of the CCW will strengthen the Convention and underline that it is capable of responding meaningfully to evolving new technologies applicable to armed conflict in the 21st century.
Mr Chairman,
7. In our view, our informal discussions over the last years have revealed that there continue to be questions on fundamental issues –definitional issues, including whether there is a need for definitions at all, mapping autonomy, compatibility with international law including international humanitarian law, specifying what exactly constitutes ‘meaningful human control’ or ‘appropriate levels of human judgment’ and whether distinctions can be drawn between oversight, review, control or judgement – to point out a few. There are no easy answers. In these circumstances, it may be prudent not to jump to definitive conclusions. The panel discussions to be held in this GGE on all dimensions of LAWS – technological, military effects, legal, ethical and cross-cutting domains – shall certainly contribute to this objective. The broad multidimensional sweep shall also ensure that we do not miss out any pathway to potential lethal autonomous weapon systems nor base ourselves on exaggerated notions of technological capabilities.
8. We also welcome the discussion on the way ahead, which shall help High Contracting Parties plan the work in 2018. We see merit in the continued consideration of the issue on the basis of an agreed mandate in the context of the CCW.
I thank you, Mr Chairman.
