Book Review: Autonomous Weapons Systems and International Norms

Technological advances in machine learning, predictive analytics, and machine vision have allowed for the development of weapons systems that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into the target selection and engagement process. While many states are readily adopting this technology, the enhanced autonomy associated with Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS) threatens to erode existing international norms, including the norm of meaningful human control over the use of force. In Autonomous Weapons Systems and International Norms, Ingvild Bode and Hendrik Huelss argue that states’ practices and behaviour, rather than formal legal negotiations, have already played a critical role in establishing international norms and “standards of appropriateness” for AWS. Proponents of AWS often cite the presumed military advantages associated with heightened degrees of weapons autonomy. Indeed, states’ interest in deploying these systems stems in part from their presumed ability to improve battlefield analysis, overcome enemy countermeasures, and reduce costs. However, AWS also pose considerable risks, including the erosion of international norms regarding the role of human decision-making in warfare. In light of this, scholars and activists have used international forums such as the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) to promote norms that would place legal restrictions on military autonomy and the use of AWS. However, Bode and Huelss point to disagreements between participants about the legal definition and acceptability of AWS and the intentional efforts on behalf of some states to promote vague or indeterminate rules to demonstrate that formal, deliberative negotiations are often unable to formulate clear, comprehensive