AI, Big Data, and LAWS: Challenges in a new era of warfare

Following the revolutions in military affairs brought about by gunpowder and nuclear weapons, we find ourselves once again at the dawn of a new era of warfare: The Age of Autonomous Systems. Using cutting-edge technologies for military purposes, especially from the field of Artificial Intelligence, will radically transform how wars will be fought in the near future. LAWS (Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems) is a critical acronym to understand warfare in the 21st century. LAWS encompass any weapon system with autonomy in its critical functions, namely one which can select (i.e., search for or detect, identify, track, and select) and attack (i.e., use force against, neutralise, damage or destroy) targets without human intervention[1]. While technically accurate, 'LAWS' is admittedly a less emphatic term than that used by a global coalition of Human Rights Watch-coordinated non-governmental organisations formed in October 2012 who are working to fully ban LAWS -- or as they call them, 'Killer Robots'.