Resumption of hostilities in Gaza

On 18 March the ceasefire in Gaza was broken with a new wave of airstrikes by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Stop Killer Robots is gravely concerned by this resumption of attacks, and supports calls for an immediate and enduring ceasefire, as well as the end to all violations – noting, among other developments, the issuing of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity against leaders of Hamas and Israel, and the assessment that Israel has been prosecuting genocide and other international crimes.

The conflict in Gaza since 2023 has been marked by the deployment of tools using AI and automation in the use of force by Israel, including the documented use of ‘decision support systems’ that process vast amounts of data to suggest both objects and people to add to target lists (as well as tools to track targets). According to reports, human approval of the target suggestions of these systems has been minimal, directly contributing to massive and devastating harm to civilians in Gaza. Stop Killer Robots has been horrified by these practices and the digital dehumanisation and erosion of human judgment that they involve. The further use in hostilities of these kinds of tools in this way must be prevented.

It is clear that the quest for speed through deploying AI in the use of force, the erosion of meaningful human control, and the reduction of people to data points, is already contributing to serious consequences for civilians. Stop Killer Robots is gravely concerned by all uses of technology that erode meaningful human decision-making and control and entail digital dehumanisation in the use of force.

Alongside clear legal rules on autonomous weapons systems – namely a legally binding international instrument containing prohibitions and restrictions, which we have consistently advocated for – all developments in AI and autonomy in the use of force which threaten our safety, security, and humanity must be adequately addressed through strong regulation by the international community, and unacceptable uses prevented. Technology should be developed and used to promote peace, justice, human rights, equality and respect for law, not to move us closer to machines making decisions over whom to kill.