LTC Korpela Attends LAWS in Geneva

The United Nations convened the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) in Geneva, Switzerland. The convention debated issues with LAWS such as emerging technologies, legal and ethical concerns, and military effects. LTC Christopher Korpela, Director of the Robotics Research Center, was selected to be part of the U.S. Delegation and testified on the military applications panel of LAWS in terms of doctrine, future operational environments, test and evaluation processes, and commander's responsibilities in the employment of weapons systems. The panel on LAWS applications was made up of military and academic experts from around the world. Over 110 countries were present with questions on reliability, proliferation, artificial intelligence, and the role of command authority and control over LAWS. Non-governmental organizations and academic universities also provided interventions on compliance with international humanitarian law and in general seek to preemptively ban these weapons systems.