UN chief, Red Cross renew call for rules on lethal autonomous weapons

Amid unconfirmed reports that fully autonomous and AI-guided drones are now being used on the battlefield, UN chief António Guterres and the President of the Red Cross on Tuesday renewed their urgent call for stricter global controls, before it is too late.Key pointsControls call for two types of autonomous weapons: those whose actions are "unpredictable" and those that target human beingsAI advances could reduce human control over use of lethal forceStates urged to start negotiating on legally binding agreementThe timing of the appeal reflects growing concerns that increasingly sophisticated weapons are being made and deployed at ever greater speed and scale, boosted by increasingly powerful AI technology. Disarmament experts say that even arms manufacturers want clarity on the legal issues at stake.“We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: the autonomous targeting of humans by machines,” UN Secretary-General Guterres said, in a joint appeal with International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) head Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.Targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in conflict is already strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law, but understand...