As AI-accelerated warfare is rapidly becoming a means of rubber-stamping killing at unprecedented speed and scale, Access Now, Amnesty International, and more than 200 civil society organizations and individuals are calling attention to the militarization of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and to halt the use of AI systems in the military kill chain. Companies and governments must cease the provision and use of technologies which undermine adherence to international law in armed conflicts.
AI has become the new gunpowder, and tech companies are the new arms dealers. This unchecked race to militarize AI, beyond meaningful regulation or accountability, is a race to the bottom that threatens global peace and security. From Gaza to Lebanon to Iran, the lived reality of violence unleashed through AI-driven kill chains shatters any claim that these systems can be deployed responsibly or consistently within the bounds of international law. States must act now and halt their use before AI-enabled atrocities become the accepted norm of modern warfare.Marwa Fatafta, MENA Policy and Advocacy Director at Access Now
The use of AI tools for target generation and prioritization is pushing military actors into a form of warfare that undermines foundational principles of international humanitarian law. Tech companies and states must halt the provision of AI systems for use in the military kill chain and take all steps to ensure that other AI systems they provide do not cause or contribute to violations of international law. States must also end use of AI tools in the conduct of military targeting and provide transparency on how AI is currently being used in the conduct of hostilities.
AI companies cannot proclaim to be committed to benefitting all of humanity while simultaneously raking in the profits from lucrative military contracts. We need the hollow ethical posturing to stop and real accountability to begin.Daniel Leufer, Emerging Technologies Policy Lead at Access Now
In Gaza and Iran, AI tools to conduct mass surveillance and accelerate the use of destructive, lethal force are already in use to devastating effect. Companies and governments must stop the expansion of these methods of warfare now or we risk falling into a dystopian future with no regard for human life, rights, or international law. It is not too late to change course, but the international community must act quickly and decisively to ensure technology serves for the betterment of people, not their destruction.
AI companies thrive by barreling through all testing procedures, claiming that their tech is too new and too complex to be treated as any other military system. Well, guess what? It is actually just like any other system, and should either be designed to prevent, avoid, and mitigate risks for civilians, or not be developed at all.Giulio Coppi, Senior Humanitarian Officer at Access Now