US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has issued a directive ordering the United States military to do more to protect civilians from harm in drone attacks and other combat operations. In a two-page memo to top Pentagon civilian and military officials, Austin on Thursday ordered a comprehensive overhaul of the US Defense Department's posture towards protecting civilians in conflict zones. "The protection of innocent civilians in the conduct of our operations remains vital to the ultimate success of our operations and as a significant strategic and moral imperative," the memo reads. The defence secretary asked for an action plan from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to prevent harm to civilians and improve US responses when such incidents occur. That plan is due within 90 days.

In recent weeks, two events demonstrated the promise of and concern over the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI). At the #AI4Good Summit in Geneva, attendees reviewed the many ways AI can help humanity in medicine, education, economic and law enforcement applications, to name a few. Meanwhile, Google withdrew from a Pentagon project called Project Maven, using AI to scan video from drones and make suggestions to classify objects as people, buildings, or vehicles. This follows the resignation of about a dozen Google employees and a petition signed by about 4,000 employees urging Google's leadership to stop work on Project Maven and cease any support for "warfare technology." The petition justified these demands by citing the Google slogan, "don't be evil." Is it possible to deploy AI on the battlefield and still live up to the "don't be evil" standard?