Artificial Intelligence, Regulating LAWS.

IHL provisions call for requisite study to assess their capacity to deal with emerging means and methods of warfare.
Member states of the UN should promote negotiations on a new international treaty to ban and regulate lethal automatic weapon systems together with use of artificial intelligence in armed conflicts.

1. “Regulating Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS)”

2. INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW IN THE AGE OF AI

3. PRESENTATION by Maj Gen Nilendra Kumar Executive President, Indian Society of International Law

4. This has a come up as a new advancement in technology.

5. WHAT ARE AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS ? Those able to select and engage targets without meaningful human controls, they select and engage targets without human intervention.

6. AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS Have autonomy to execute their functions in the absence of any direction or input from a human actor.

7. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ? It is the intelligence of machines or software as opposed to intelligence of humans or animals . This capacity can be put to use in military too.

8. AUTONOMY IS TOTAL except that A human gives the final command to engage. There are also some which are defensive systems.

9. AUTONOMOUS WEAPON SYSTEMS (AWS) provide operational flexibility in air, underwater, land or outer space

10. LAWS (Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems). Pre-programmed to kill a specific target profile. Once deployed, it searches for that target profile using sensor data, such as facial recognition. Thus it identifies, selects and kills human or other targets without human intervention.

11. They are also known as ‘Killer Robots’.

12. TO BE NOTED Not all autonomous weapons incorporate AI to execute particular tasks. Role of AI can be to Enable , or Assist

13. WHY PREFERENCE FOR AUTONOMOUS WEAPONRY Generally cheaper Easier to produce No need for extensive training or dedicated pers Can neutralize far more costly & advanced weapons.

14. EXAMPLE OF LAWS Unmanned aerial and submersible drones The US Phalanx CIWS Russian Arena Russian Status-6 Israeli Trophy German AMAP-ADS

15. SEARCH Carried out in a particular environment (location) for a specific ‘target profile’ using sensor data, such as ‘facial recognition’.

16. AI WEAPONISED Experimental submarines Tanks Ships ‘Swarm’ drones Aviation support and surveillance system

17. INDIA is known to have already started acquiring and exploring deployment of near autonomous weapon systems.

18. COMPELLING REASONS FOR INDIA TO ADOPT LAWS & AI Diverse and tough terrain may favor employment of ALS for border patrolling and protection of its space assets. Availability of technical savvy uniform personnel.

19. CONTROL SET UP Defence AI Project Agency (DAIPA ) Defence AI Council (DAIC ) under Chairmanship of Defence Minister

20. ACQUISITION IS A NECESSITY FOR INDIA The adversaries are known to have access Emerging strategic partnerships and equations call for technological readiness

21. CHINESE AIDP New generation of AI Development Plan issued in 2017 indicates a new policy and road map for development of autonomous weapons.

22. US ARSENAL ‘Replicator’ Program Self piloting naval vehs Uncrewed aircraft Hunter drone Live Rockets

23. RUSSIAN POSITION Modified commercial quadcoptres Poseidon underwater veh Aurora 1-MT FPV Drone

24. GAZA OPERATIONS IDF has employed AI for Proactive forecasting, threat alert; and defensive systems. Intelligence a nalysis , Targeting and munitions.

25. ISRAELI POLICY The policy should be premised upon the concept of ‘Responsible Innovation’ which is based on the need to support innovation while simultaneously fostering accountability and ethically aligned design and use. Benjamin Netanyahu

26. UKRAINE WAR Moscow and Kyiv have both used small aerial drones to target opposing troops and attack vehicles. Further, larger sized, medium altitude drones have been used to attack radars and installations.

27. STAGES IN ATTACK KILL CHAIN Find or search Fix Track Target Engage Assess

28. CONCERNS about use of such weapons relate to humanitarian, legal, ethical, security and technical issues. ANALYSIS

29. HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS Separation of civilians from military personnel. Accurate estimation of the force to be employed. Refine mode of warning to secure surrender by opponents.

30. LEGAL ISSUES How would the culpability be fixed in case of wrongful death or large damages? 2. Would the actions be viewed as deliberate or omissions?

31. ETHICAL DILEMMA Human decisions about life and death are substituted with sensor , software and machine processes.

32. SECURITY ISSUES 1. Differentiation between civilians and non-civilians. 2. Proportionality

33. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES Authority to use force in tri or joint force situations Regular and live training

34. TECHNICAL ISSUES Scope for errors, failures and vulnerabilities. Thus, reliability, safety and security may be compromised. Robustness, interpretability, and adversial resilience of AI, sensors and algorithms cannot be relied upon as foolproof.

35. IHL PROVISIONS LIKELY TO BE INFRINGED

36. ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL 1 of 1977 PART III Section 1 Method and Means of Warfare

37. AP 1 Article 36-New weapons In the study, development, acquisition or adoption of a new weapon, means or method of warfare, a High Contracting Party is under an obligation to determine whether its employment would, in some or all circumstances, be prohibited by this Protocol or by any other rule of international law applicable to the High Contracting Party.

38. AP I Art 48. shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives.

39. Article 36 stands meaningless as there are no rules of international law specifically on LAWS and AI

40. DANGER & CONCERN Autonomous weapons select and apply force to targets based on sensor processing rather than human inputs.

41. PART IV CIVILIAN POPULATION SECTION 1 General Protection against effect of hostilities. CHAPTER I Basic Rule and field of application

42. CHAPTER II Civilians and civilian population

43. Article 51-Protection of the civilian population. 51(1). The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations. (2) and (3). XXX 4. Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited.

44. CHAPTER III Civilian objects

45. Article 52- General protection of civilian objects 52(1). Civilian objects shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals. Civilian objects are all objects which are not military objectives as defined in paragraph 2.

46. CHAPTER IV Precautionary measures

47. Article 57-Precautions in attack 57 (1). In the conduct of military operations, constant care shall be taken to spare the civilian population, civilians and objects.

48. Algorithms Based on Long Standing Data (instances of) 1 . Air bases used for particular type of missions. 2 . Railway stations used for troop or stores movements. 3 . Particular weapons carried by reconnoitering patrols. 4 . Usual deployments for a bridge head or breakout phase. 5 . Reaction time taken for combat air patrols.

49. ALGORITHIMS What type of injuries would be caused by use of certain ammunition, for example to persons of one particular age group? Say under water or at high altitudes? Sudden increase in procurement of certain types of POL at certain locations.

50. DANGEROUS IMPLICATIONS Devastating force may be used endangering human lives, without any #Warning , #Negotiations #Clarifications #Third Party intervention #Statesmanship

51. FRIGHTFUL CONSEQUENCES The machine as opposed to the human operator would decide where, when, or against what force is to be applied.

52. PRINCIPLES OF WAR WHICH IMPEDE PREDICTABILITY 1. Surprise. 2. Security 3. Flexibility 4. Cooperation

53. The Human are the ultimately responsible entities. Saddle responsibility on 1. Commander, or 2. Operator

54. MAJOR CHALLENGES 1. Absence of meaningful human control (MHC). 2. Hard to identify which particular technologies have the potential capacity for military use. 3. Rather than regulating the development of autonomous weapons focus should be on regulating their use. 4. Increasing likelihood of use of such weapons in offensive roles.

55. UN GA RESOLUTION NO 78/241 22 Dec 2023 It acknowledges the serious challenges and concerns raised by new technological applications in the military domain, including those which relate to artificial intelligence and autonomy in weapon systems .

56. ICRC POSITION States (should) adopt new, international legally binding rules to prohibit unpredictable autonomous weapons and those designed or used to apply force against persons, and to place strict restrictions on all others.

57. AUTOMATION BIAS The tendency of humans to not critically challenge a system’s output or search for contradictory information.

58. DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS AI-DSS Rely on a human- centred approach to the development and use of AI in armed conflict.

59. CONCLUSION IHL provisions call for requisite study to assess their capacity to deal with emerging means and methods of warfare . Member states of the UN should promote negotiations on a new international treaty to ban and regulate these weapons.