The LAWS of War: Lethal autonomous weapons systems and the new ethics of warfare

In this episode, I speak with Dr. John C. Williams about the ethics of automated weapons systems. We talk about the concept of meaningful human control, about the ethics of war, and what it means to engage in the politics of biopower in the age of lethal autonomous weapons.

Dr. John C. Williams is a Professor in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, in the UK.

Among the many areas of his research, Dr. Williams is an expert on the ethics of war and challenges presented by changing patterns and technologies of violence and the issue of democratic authority over warfare. His work looks at key technologies including drones and emergent autonomous weapons systems, and considers the ethics of meaningful human control as AI increasingly becomes part of what it means to wage war. He is the author of Ethics, Diversity and World Politics: Saving Pluralism From Itself? (Oxford University Press), and The Ethics of Territorial Borders: Drawing Lines in the Shifting Sand. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, as well as multiple other articles on the ethics of technology at the intersection of war.

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This episode was produced by Matt Perry.

Art by Desi Aleman.