The United Nations convened on Monday, bringing together several nations to revisit the regulation of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), also known as “killer robots,” a topic under discussion by the international body for over a decade.

These discussions are taking place against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

While the meeting itself was private, U.N. Secretary-General issued a statement reiterating his 2026 deadline for a legally binding agreement to address the dangers posed by LAWS.

“Machines capable of independently making life-or-death decisions are unacceptable politically, morally reprehensible, and should be prohibited under international law,” Guterres stated. “We cannot allow machines to make decisions about who lives or dies,” he added.

President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, addressed the participating nations, expressing the ICRC’s support for regulating LAWS. However, she cautioned that technology is advancing more rapidly than regulations, amplifying the threats these systems pose.

“Machines that can autonomously take lives threaten to fundamentally alter warfare with potentially severe humanitarian consequences. They also raise critical ethical and human rights issues. This will affect all of humanity,” Spoljaric stated.

The presence of AI is not a requirement for a weapon to be classified as autonomous, according to the U.N., as some systems rely on pre-programmed functions. However, AI “could further enable” the capabilities of autonomous weapons systems, the U.N. noted.

Rachel Bovard, Vice President of the Conservative Partnership Institute, acknowledges the necessity of regulating autonomous weapons but stresses the need for U.S. caution in AI development.

“AI is largely uncharted territory, and nations are grappling with establishing rules. Regulation is essential to protect our humanity. However, regarding international law, the U.S. should exercise caution,” Bovard told . “As demonstrated in areas from trade to health, subjecting national sovereignty to international mandates can have lasting, unintended repercussions. If existing international law is currently adequate, it should be the governing standard.”

Since 2014, countries party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons have been meeting to discuss a potential ban on LAWS that operate without human control and to regulate those with some level of human oversight, .

In 2023, over 160 nations supported a U.N. resolution urging countries worldwide to address the risks associated with LAWS. Nevertheless, there is currently no specific international law governing LAWS.

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