AI-powered autonomous weapons pose a grave concern, emphasizes the research community: "Life and death decisions should not be left to artificial intelligence"
A growing number of countries and experts are calling for the regulation of autonomous weapon systems (AWS), with a new appeal gaining support from over 120 nations and 34 scientists from 21 countries. This movement, known as the "Potsdam Appeal on Autonomous Weapon Systems," is urging the public and politics to contain AWS, as concerns about loss of human control and decisions over life and death being made by machines escalate.
The Potsdam Appeal, which was made public on Monday, is timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Potsdam Agreement and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It builds on the famous "Russell-Einstein Manifesto" of 1955, which called on governments and society to take responsibility in the face of nuclear threats.
Notable signatories of the Potsdam Appeal include Vint Cerf, one of the "fathers of the internet," William J. Drake from Columbia Business School, Anriette Esterhuysen from the Association for Progressive Communication, and Dr. Nii Narku Quaynor, Chairman of Ghana Dot Com Ltd., a member of the Internet Hall of Fame. The list also includes professors from renowned Western universities such as Stanford University, the Sorbonne in Paris, the University of Innsbruck, and the London School of Economics.
UN Secretary-General Guterres has described AWS as "the defining issue of our time" and has called for a legally binding instrument to be adopted by 2026. The Potsdam Appeal aims to support this proposal, with initiator Wolfgang Kleinwächter stating that their goal is to contain AWS and ensure human control over decisions regarding life and death.
However, international discussions and efforts to control AWS are ongoing but have not yet produced a binding treaty. The UK government acknowledges AWS's role in future military strategy but lacks a definitive regulatory strategy addressing legal and ethical risks. Diverging national security interests, lack of consensus on definitions and scope, and strategic rivalries are among the challenges facing negotiations.
At the diplomatic level, a broad UN General Assembly resolution adopted on December 2, 2024, involving 166 countries, initiated a new forum to expand efforts toward legal regulation of AWS. However, notable arms suppliers such as China, India, Iran, Turkey, and Ukraine abstained from this vote, reflecting significant geopolitical divisions and reluctance among powerful states to commit fully to restrictive measures.
The UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) continues to hold sessions of its Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on lethal autonomous weapons systems, with the second session scheduled for August 11–22, 2025, in Geneva. These meetings serve as the primary multilateral forum for negotiating international norms and potential regulations around AWS.
While progress is incremental and hindered by geopolitical disagreements, the momentum toward regulation and a potential treaty by 2026 remains under close international attention. The urgency of a treaty is widely acknowledged by non-governmental campaigns and many states, as the use of AWS could have potentially fatal consequences.
Sources:
- UNODA meetings schedule on CCW GGE on AWS [2]
- UK parliamentary and civil society discussions on AWS regulation [3]
- UN General Assembly resolutions and geopolitical stances on AWS [4]
- Reports on state positions and arms control trends [1,4]
- Campaign calls for comprehensive treaty by 2026 [5]
Notable signatories of the Potsdam Appeal from the Global South include China, Ghana, Brazil, Mexico, India, and South Africa. Prof. Dr. Peng Hwa Ang from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore is among the signatories, as is Jimena Sofia Viveros Alvarez, CEO of IQuilibriumAI, and Dr. Olga Cavalli, Dean of the National Defense Faculty of Argentina.
AI already makes decisions about attacks today, and what is currently under human supervision could soon act entirely autonomously. With this in mind, the Potsdam Appeal is a critical step toward ensuring that the lessons learned from past conflicts are not repeated in the era of autonomous weapons.
- The Potsdam Appeal, supported by Vint Cerf, one of the "fathers of the internet," and other prominent figures, advocates that policy-and-legislation should be enacted to contain autonomous weapon systems (AWS), as concerns about loss of human control and decisions over life and death being made by machines escalate.
- In light of the ongoing international discussions and efforts to control AWS, technology and science need to collaborate with policy-and-legislation, politics, and general-news to promote a comprehensive treaty, given the potential fatal consequences of the use of AWS.
