Challenges in Regulating Lethal Autonomous Weapons Under International Law

Since 2017, the United Nations (UN) has regularly convened a group of government experts (GGE) to explore the technical, legal, and ethical issues surrounding the deployment of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS). To date, these efforts have failed. This paper outlines the challenges states face in creating international regulatory schemes for LAWS. These challenges arise from several sources: difficulty in defining concepts related to LAWS, disagreements over potential substantive restrictions, and the specific nature of the weapons systems themselves, which may influence states’ willingness to be bound by international law.