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This round-up of recent actions at the national level supporting the call to preemptively ban fully autonomous weapons systems covers developments in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Holy See, Italy, Netherlands, UK and US in November-December 2017. Australia On 2 November 2017, more than 120 members of the Australian AI research community wrote to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to ask Australia to endorse the call to ban lethal autonomous weapons systems and commit to working with other states to conclude a new international agreement that achieves this objective. The signatories called on Australia to “take a firm global stand against weaponizing” artificial intelligence by prohibiting weapons systems that remove meaningful human control from determining the legitimacy of targets and deploying lethal force.

The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots welcomes the decision taken by 91 states at the annual meeting of the Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva today to continue formal deliberations on "lethal autonomous weapons systems" next year, but criticizes the lack of ambition in addressing mounting concerns over these weapons systems.

After four years a multilateral process to consider concerns relating to lethal autonomous weapons systems looks set to continue aiming low and going slow despite increasing calls for new international law to address this concern.

13 November 2017 Geneva PRESS RELEASE: Process on Killer Robots Lacks Focus and Goal Determine How to Retain Meaningful Human Control of Weapons Systems The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots urges states to swiftly determine how and where…

The first meeting of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Group of Governmental Experts on lethal autonomous weapons systems opens at the United Nations (UN) Palais des Nations in Geneva on Monday, 13 November. The following "frequently asked questions" review the meeting's agenda and objectives as well as the expectations of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. The formal proceedings of this meeting will not be broadcast live via the web or other means, but country statements will be posted online and campaigners will provide updates, including on Twitter using the hashtag #CCWUN. CCW delegates and interested media are invited to attend the campaign's side event briefing on Monday, 13 November at 13:00 in Conference Room XXII.

For the fifth consecutive year in a row, states at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) First Committee on Disarmament and International Security in New York have expressed concern over fully autonomous weapons, also known as lethal autonomous weapons systems. More than 150 countries are participating in the month-long 72nd session of UNGA First Committee in addition to key UN agencies such as UNIDIR, the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to advance humanitarian disarmament. Participants include the global NGO coalitions working to advance humanitarian disarmament, including the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.

The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots urges governments to heed an open letter signed by 126 founders and directors of more than 100 robotics and artificial intelligence companies from 28 countries demanding urgent action to address fully autonomous weapons concerns.

The United Nations says it is “closely following developments related to the prospect of weapons systems that can autonomously select and engage targets, with concern that technological developments may outpace normative deliberations.” It expresses hope that UN member states "make meaningful progress toward a shared understanding on how to ensure the core values of the international community are safeguarded in this context.”

30 May 2017 Geneva PRESS RELEASE: Diplomatic Efforts to Address Killer Robots Falter – Convention on Conventional Weapons Talks Cancelled Due to Lack of Funds The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots is deeply disappointed that the Convention…