On October 3, 2019, HLS PILAC Senior Researcher Dustin A. Lewis participated in the fourth Stockholm Security Conference, hosted by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Mr. Lewis presented new HLS PILAC research — produced as part of the “International Legal and Policy Dimensions of War Algorithms: Enduring and Emerging Concerns” project — at the breakout session titled “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human Control: How are Advances of AI and Autonomy in Weapons Systems Impacting the Roles of Humans in Warfare?”.

Mr. Lewis and other panelists — Dr. Peter Asaro (Associate Professor, The New School of Media Studies); Dr. Cordula Droege (Head of the Operational Law Unit, Legal Division, International Committee of the Red Cross); and Ms. Pauline Warnotte (Military Assistant, Chair of Law, Faculty of Social and Military Sciences, Royal Military Academy, Belgian Ministry of Defence) — explored two sets of questions:

• How are the advances of AI and autonomy in weapon systems changing the nature, location and timing of human actions and decision making in warfare?

• What control should humans maintain over the weapon systems they use and what can be done to ensure that this control remains adequate or meaningful as weapon systems become increasingly complex and autonomous?

The session was moderated by Dr. Vincent Boulanin (Senior Researcher, SIPRI).