UK Campaign to Stop Killer Robots in Parliament
Parliamentary Activity
In 2021, a cross-party group of parliamentarians who are concerned about growing autonomy in weapons systems was established. This informal group is facilitated by the UK Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and includes parliamentarians from the four biggest UK political parties.
The group receives commentary on relevant international meetings, briefings on the latest UK policy developments and invites to events – as well as acting as a platform for dialogue and information exchange. With participants’ agreement, the names of parliamentarians who are members are published below.
Alyn Smith MP (SNP)
Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative)
Darren Jones MP (Labour)
Lord Bishop of Oxford (Diocese of Oxford)
Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour)
Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrats)
Lord Desai (Non-affiliated)
Kenny MacAskill MP (SNP)
Kirsten Oswald MP (SNP)
Mick Whitley MP (Labour)
If you are a parliamentarian or a staff member for a parliamentarian you can join the group by emailing [email protected].
Throughout 2022, the UK Campaign to Stop Killer Robots worked with parliamentarians and the UK Government to raise awareness of concerns over lethal autonomous weapons systems – an emerging type of weapon system which can identify and kill people without meaningful human control. The following resource is intended as a detailed listing, together with campaign analysis of recent parliamentary activity on this issue.
Click below to download the document.
As a coalition of UK-based NGOs, tech experts and academics who are concerned with the risks associated with growing autonomy in weapons systems, we regularly submit evidence to relevant UK Parliament Committees providing recommendations on the necessary regulation and safeguards to ensure an ethical and safe use of emerging military technologies.
Read the UK Campaign’s submission to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee’s Inquiry on ‘Tech and the future of UK foreign policy.’
A Briefing by the UK Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, April 2021.
What is the UK government’s current position?
The UK Government maintains that it ‘does not possess fully autonomous weapons and has no intention of developing them,’claiming that it will always ensure meaningful and context-appropriate human involvement in weapons systems which identify, select and attack targets. However, the MOD continues to pursue research work in all three of the key disciplines underpinning autonomous technology: artificial intelligence and machine learning; robotics; and sensors.
It is important to note that none of the MOD’s current projects directly intend to develop a lethal autonomous weapon system —a ‘killer robot’ able to select and destroy targets without human intervention. However, in the absence of adequate safeguards and regulation these projects represent developments in technology which could be combined with other systems to form the building blocks of such lethal weapons systems.
Publications that provide indications of current official UK policy regarding killer robots:
- (2022) Ambitious, Safe, Responsible: Our approach to the delivery of AI-enabled capability in Defence
- (2022) Defence Artificial Intelligence Strategy
- (2021) Global Britain in a Competitive Age: the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy
Correspondence between the UK campaign and the government
Over the years, the UK Campaign regularly communicated with the UK government in order to call on the UK to take action to facilitate an international treaty to regulate autonomy in weapons systems. Examples include:
- (January 2022) Response from the RT Hon Baroness Goldie, Minister of State in the House of Lords
- (December 2021) Letter to the Secretary of State for Defence: UK Campaign to Stop Killer Robots urge the UK to take action on the global stage to address autonomous weapons systems
- (January 2021) Ministry of Defence responds to letter on Lethal Autonomous Weapons
- (November 2020) Letter to the UK government: human dignity, responsibility and common ground on human control
- (June 2020) Letter to the UK government: Moving towards detail and substance in autonomous weapons discussions
- (April 2018) Tech companies and civil society urge UK to take action to prohibit autonomous weapon
- (November 2017) UK urged to show leadership on defining global standard for control over weapons systems
- (January 2017) UK government: Defining ‘human control’ essential at killer robots talks in 2017
- (May 2015) Foreign Secretary responds to joint letter on ‘killer robots’
- (April 2015) UK government called to speak out against ‘killer robots’ at UN talks
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