Leading war and strategy expert Sir Lawrence Freedman to give evidence on impact of Artificial Intelligence on warfare
Wednesday 10 May 2023
At 10am on Thursday 11 May the Lords Artificial Intelligence in Weapons Systems Committee will hold its fifth public evidence session on the realities of how artificial intelligence will affect warfare and how policy can be created that is resilient to the pace of development of artificial intelligence.
The Committee will hear from:
- Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at Kings College London.
The evidence session will be available to watch live or on demand on Parliament TV or in person in Committee Room 4A, Palace of Westminster.
Possible question topics include:
- Whether AI will fundamentally change warfare
- The UK’s policy position on AWS
- The extent the UK Government is a leading voice in conversations on international regulation
- What is needed to guard against the increased escalatory risk posed by AWS
Background:
Autonomous weapons systems have been defined as systems that can select and attack a target without human intervention. These systems could revolutionise warfare, with some suggesting that they would be faster, more accurate and more resilient than existing weapons systems and could limit the casualties of war.
However, concerns have arisen about the ethics of these systems, how they can be used safely and reliably, whether they risk escalating wars more quickly, and their compliance with international humanitarian law.
Throughout its inquiry the Committee will be looking at a wide range of issues surrounding autonomous weapons systems, including:
- The challenges, risks and benefits associated with them.
- The technical, legal and ethical safeguards that are necessary to ensure that they are used safely, reliably and accountably.
- The sufficiency of current UK policy and the state of international policymaking on autonomous
