BİRLEŞMİŞ MİLLETLER PERSPEKTİFİNDEN YAPAY ZEKÂ TEKNOLOJİSİNDE SİLAHSIZLANMA SORUNU: OTONOM SİLAHLAR VE KÜRESEL GÜVENLİK

The weapons that have self-controlling capacity and are equipped with the technology to independently choose and destroy a target are called autonomous weapons. Presently, autonomous weapon technology is developed to contribute to the defence and offensive capacities of states and restructure their armies. However, there is a common concern that the quality of autonomous weapons to make decisions in the international arena independent of humans may cause a global security problem. In this respect, the United Nations (UN) supports disarmament by holding meetings and issuing reports to ensure that these weapons are controlled while under development. The present article intends to clarify the activities of the UN which aim to control autonomous weapon technology. The first part of the article defines autonomous weapons in detail and then evaluates their possible benefits and threats. Later on, the article provides an outline of the disarmament endeavours with regard to autonomous weapons. The final part, on the other hand, discusses the disarmament activities of the UN as to autonomous weapons. In this sense, the official documents of the UN were selected as primary sources in revealing the global aspect of the disarmament struggles concerning autonomous weapons. This article, therefore, uses the document analysis method. In consequence of the document analysis, it was concluded that more data were required to establish a consensus as to the performance of a wider disarmament activities under the UN regarding autonomous weapons.