Canada’s policy approach to “killer robots” and the ethics of autonomous weapons systems

Abstract

Ongoing international policy discussions on the regulation of autonomous weapons have advanced the concept of “meaningful human control” as an ethical benchmark for weapons systems. In academic discourse, ethical objections to the development and use of autonomous weapons systems include arguments based in feasibility, accountability, human dignity, and established rules for armed combat. This article situates current policy discussions on autonomous weapons systems, and Canadian policy in particular, with respect to the ethical discourse around such systems. We ask how the idea of meaningful human control intersects with various ethical objections to autonomous weapons, and propose a set of questions for policymakers.