Open Letter to PM of Australia

Killer robots: Australia's AI community urges PM to join other nations calling for a pre-emptive ban on lethal autonomous weapons

An letter signed by 122 faculty members working in AI and robotics in Australia says that lethal autonomous weapons lacking meaningful human control sit on the wrong side of a clear moral line. It calls for Australia to announce its support for the call to ban lethal autonomous weapons systems at the upcoming UN Conference on CCW, and to commit to working with other states to conclude a new international agreement that achieves this objective.

The argues that Australia would thereby reclaim its position of moral leadership on the world stage as demonstrated previously in other areas like the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. With Australia's recent election to the UN's Human Rights Council, the issue of lethal autonomous weapons is even more pressing for Australia to address. Text of open letter and full list of signatures.

Response to letter from Julie Bishop, as Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Australian government considers it premature to support a pre-emptive ban, but will remain actively engaged in the CCW and GGE. It commits to Article 36 reviews, and to there always being "human interaction" with autonomous weapons.