Mapping LAWS Workshop: Politics, Ethics, and Expertise in the Debate over Emerging Weapons Technologies — August 30-September 1, University of Canterbury: The Mapping LAWS project hosted a workshop, with keynote speaker Dr Jack Poulson (Tech Inquiry) and participants joining us from Australia, Canada and across Europe.
RNZ interview with Dr Jack Poulson of Tech Inquiry — August 30, 2023: Dr Jack Poulson, keynote speaker at the Mapping LAWS workshop 'Politics, Ethics, and Expertise in the Debate over Emerging Weapons Technologies' and founder of Tech Inquiry, was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan for Radio New Zealand's Nine to Noon.
Public event | Tech Inquiry: Curating Data to Map the Military-Surveillance-Law Enforcement Complex — Upcoming public talk, University of Canterbury, August 30, 2023: The Mapping LAWS project is pleased to present Dr Jack Poulson of Tech Inquiry for a public talk on his work mapping the international ecosystems of surveillance and weapons, and the influence industries surrounding them.
New Publication | Encoding the Enemy: The Politics Within and Around Ethical Algorithmic War — July 19, 2023: A new article by Jeremy Moses and Geoff Ford published in the journal Global Society analyses the politics of ethical war algorithms, with a focus on Arkin's ‘ethical governor’ and Allen AI's Delphi project.
Workshop announcement and call: Politics, Ethics, and Expertise in the Debate over Emerging Weapons Technologies — The Mapping LAWS project will host a workshop ‘Politics, Ethics, and Expertise in the Debate over Emerging Weapons Technologies’ at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand from August 31 to September 1, 2023.
Trusting technology to kill: trust, ethics, and virtuous war in the development of autonomous weapons systems — OCIS2023, Melbourne, July 7, 2023: Sian Troath presented her paper on the use of trust in US, UK, and Australian military doctrine.
Algorithmic Bias and the Limits of International Legal Regulation of Autonomous Weapons — OCIS2023, Melbourne, July 7, 2023: Jeremy Moses presented work on recent attempts by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots to appeal to public concern about algorithmic bias in their messaging, what this reveals about the limitations of humanitarian arguments about AWS, and the potential for an anti-war alternative.
The political economy of Australian militarism: on the emergent military-industrial-academic complex — OCIS2023, Melbourne, July 6, 2023: Sian Troath presented her paper arguing that one of the key forces underpinning Australia’s recent militarisation is an emergent military-industrial-academic complex.
Roundtable at OCIS2023: Ethics, Trust, and Responsibility in the Discourses of Future War — OCIS2023, Melbourne, July 6, 2023: Sian Troath and Jeremy Moses (roundtable organiser) joined Sulagnu Basu and Michael Richardson to discuss the origins and functions of the ethical and moral claims that are now routinely made about autonomous weapons systems (AWS) and other AI-driven military technologies. Image: US military poster.
AUKUS is already trialling autonomous weapons systems – where is NZ’s policy on next-generation warfare? — June 8, 2023: Jeremy Moses and Sian Troath writing for The Conversation discuss New Zealand's policy on autonomous weapons systems and how this relates to its interest in joining Pillar 2 of AUKUS. Photo: Matt Hrkac
Algorithmic Bias and the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots — ANU Law and Philosophy Seminar Series, Canberra, May 24, 2023: Jeremy Moses presented work in progress on the way in which arguments about algorithmic bias are being used by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and how this reveals the limitations of international humanitarian law.
AUKUS and Australia’s Domestic Opinion — April 18, 2023: Sian Troath’s analysis of letters-to-the-editor, featured in 9Dashline, suggests public views on AUKUS are more varied and complex view than is often appreciated.
Trusting technology to kill: trust, ethics, and virtuous war in the development of autonomous weapons systems — ISA Annual Convention, Montreal, March 18, 2023: Sian Troath and Geoff Ford presented their paper tracing how the language of trust is being used in relation to RAS-AI in the defence doctrine of the US, UK, and Australia.
Roundtable at ISA2023: Visualizing Future War — ISA Annual Convention, Montreal, March 17, 2023: Sian Troath and Geoff Ford contributed to a roundtable, along with Kathryn Brimblecombe‐Fox, Sulagna Basu, Guangyu Qiao‐Franco, discussing different approaches to visualise future war. Jeremy Moses organised and chaired the roundtable.
The Hidden Politics of Autonomous Weapons Technology — ISA Annual Convention, Montreal, 15 March 2023, Jeremy Moses presented a paper on a panel convened by Ingvild Bode of the Autonorms Project. Using the work of Ronald Arkin and the Allen Institute for AI's 'Delphi' as examples, the paper argues that attempts to develop ethical governors for lethal autonomous
Blog 09: Military perspectives on robotics and autonomous systems, Part 1 — November 28, 2022: The first post in a blog series from Sian Troath and Geoff Ford discusses research-in-progress on Australian military perspectives on robotics and autonomous systems.
Blog 08: Drawing autonomy in AUKUS defence documents — November 22, 2022: Sian Troath shares analysis of AUKUS defence documents and mentions of ‘autonomy’.
The circulation of power and ethics in AI, robotics, and autonomy research in Australia — November 1, 2022: Sian Troath has a new piece in Circus Bazaar on the politics of ethics and AWS in Australia.
Military Perspectives on Robotics and Autonomous Systems: From the Apocalyptic to the Humanitarian — September 29, 2022, UC Political Science and International Relations Seminar Series: Sian Troath spoke on her interdisciplinary digital humanities and international relations approach to study the military imaginary, including defence personnel perceptions of new and emerging technologies.
The politics of expertise and the role of experts in debates on autonomous weapons — September 29, 2022, UC Political Science and International Relations Seminar Series: Geoff Ford discussed his work on the Mapping LAWS project, focusing on his research interest in the politics of expertise.
Dr Geoff Ford starts Associate Investigator role on Mapping LAWS project — September, 2022: Dr Geoff Ford has begun a role as Associate Investigator on the Mapping LAWS project. Geoff worked on the Mapping LAWS project proposal with the PIs in 2018 and 2019 and was postdoctoral fellow from 2020 to 2022.
Military perspectives on robotics and autonomous systems: from the apocalyptic to the humanitarian — EISA Conference, Athens, September 3, 2022: Sian Troath presented research on military imaginaries of AWS, focusing on features of discourse about AWS in Australian military blogs. This is research in development with Geoff Ford.
The problem with ‘dignity’ in the lethal autonomous weapons debate — EISA Conference, Athens, September 3, 2022: Jeremy Moses presented a paper on appeals to ‘human dignity’ in debates on LAWS.
Trust: What is it good for? Investigating the implicit assumptions made about trust in international relations research — EISA Conference, Athens, September 2, 2022: Sian Troath presented on a study in development with Geoff Ford that is quantifying and analysing features of trust discourse in IR.
Think-tanks, expertise and the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Debate: the role of the Center for New American Security — EISA Conference, Athens, September 2, 2022: Jeremy Moses presented a paper in development with Geoff Ford on the influence of experts from the Center for a New American Security in debates on LAWS.
Australia’s pursuit of ‘killer robots’ could put the trans-Tasman alliance with New Zealand on shaky ground — August 22, 2022: Sian Troath writing for The Conversation on Australia's prioritisation of AWS and what this means for the Australia-New Zealand defence relationship.
New Zealand, Australia and the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Debate — August 4, 2022, Centre for Strategic Studies, Wellington: Jeremy Moses and Sian Troath presented on the complexities of New Zealand’s position in the debate on lethal autonomous weapons, particularly as it relates to Australia’s pursuit of these technologies.
New Publication | The development of robotics and autonomous systems in Australia: key issues, actors, and discourses — July 3, 2022: Sian Troath has a new journal article out in the Australian Journal of International Affairs looking at robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) in the Australian context.
Video: Jeremy Moses presenting at the Institute of Advanced Studies on “That human dignity of having a human decide to kill you” — June 20, 2022: Jeremy Moses presented on the recurring appeal to human dignity in debates on lethal autonomous weapons at the Loughborough Institute of Advanced Studies seminar series on Pacifism and Non-Violence.
“That human dignity of having a human decide to kill you”: The problem with “dignity” and the need for pacifism in the lethal autonomous weapons debate — June 17, 2022: Jeremy Moses presented his paper discussing the use of human dignity arguments in debates on lethal autonomous weapons at the British International Studies Association conference, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Trust in the discipline — June 13, 2022: Sian Troath and Geoff Ford presented to the Trust Research in International Relations Group on their pilot study analysing trust discourse in IR, part of Sian’s research on trust for Mapping LAWS.
Video: Jeremy Moses presenting to the NZ Institute of International Affairs — May 17, 2022: Video of a presentation by Jeremy Moses on NZ’s position on lethal autonomous weapons.
New Zealand and the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Debate — May 17, 2022: Jeremy Moses presented at the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs on New Zealand’s position on lethal autonomous weapons.
Blog 07: RAS, the budget, and the election — May 10, 2022: Sian Troath on Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) policy in Australia, the outcomes of the last budget, and the potential implications of the election outcome.
The practical challenges of trust in the development and use of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) — ISA Annual Convention, March 29, 2022: Sian Troath presented her paper comparing discourse on trust in Australian Defence documents and records from the CCW deliberations on LAWS.
Think tanks, Expertise and the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Debate: The role of the Center for a New American Security — ISA Annual Convention, March 29, 2022: Jeremy Moses and Geoff Ford presented their paper on the role of CNAS in debates about autonomous weapons.
Blog 06: Drawing Autonomy in Australian Defence Documents II — February 16, 2022: Sian Troath's second piece in her series on visualising autonomy in Australian defence documents.
Amy Fletcher joins UC Artificial Intelligence Research Group — February 16, 2022: Amy Fletcher has joined the University of Canterbury Artificial Intelligence Research Group, contributing her expertise on the politics of emerging technologies, including autonomous weapons.
Killer Robots: mapping the debate with knowledge graphs — February 15, 2022: Daniel Rance presented to the Masters of Applied Data Science programme at UC on a summer project with Geoff Ford, building knowledge graphs to map networks of actors in debates on LAWS.
The lethal autonomous weapons debate in Australia — NZPSA Annual Conference, February 10, 2022: Sian Troath presented a working paper on the lethal autonomous weapons debate in Australia, including perspectives from government, military, industry, and activists.
New Zealand and the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Debate — NZPSA Annual Conference, February 10, 2022: Jeremy Moses presented a working paper in development with Sian Troath and Geoff Ford on the context and tensions in NZ’s position on autonomous weapons.
Experts, Money and the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Debate: The role of the Center for New American Security — NZPSA Annual Conference, February 10, 2022: Geoff Ford presented a working paper in development with Jeremy Moses on the role of CNAS in debates about autonomous weapons.
Blog 05: New Zealand’s autonomous weapons challenge — December 24, 2021: Jeremy Moses discusses the politics of New Zealand's position on autonomous weapons in a context in which key military partners, Australia and the United States, are investing in autonomy.
1NEWS at Six story on New Zealand's position on autonomous weapons — December 20, 2021: Jeremy Moses was interviewed for a 1NEWS at Six story on the politics of New Zealand's position on autonomous weapons.
New Publication | See Spot save lives: fear, humanitarianism, and war in the development of robot quadrupeds — November 25, 2021: A new article by Jeremy Moses and Geoffrey Ford in the journal Digital War highlights the use of humanitarian justifications to overcome public negativity about robot quadrupeds.
Welcoming Daniel Rance, Data Science Summer Project — November 22, 2021: We are pleased to welcome Daniel Rance who joins our summer research project, Killer Robots Knowledge Graph, as part of his Masters of Applied Data Science at UC.
Visualising themes in debates about autonomous weapons — November 19, 2021: An interactive overview and visual guide to features of the debates surrounding lethal autonomous weapons.
Video: Lecture by Amy Fletcher on Lethal Autonomous Weapons and Future Warfare — November 2, 2021: Amy Fletcher gave a lecture at the Kentucky Center for Veteran Studies. The lecture introduced the global debate on LAWS and discussed the implications of AWS for the future of warfare.
Preview: Visualising themes in debates about autonomous weapons — October 22, 2021: An early view of our latest work visualising important features of public discourse on LAWS and how these debates are structured and connect across domains.
Blog 04: Drawing Autonomy in Australian Defence Documents — October 14, 2021: Sian Troath's latest blog post on mentions of autonomy in Australian defence documents.
Blog 03: Explore representations of robots in popular culture with Robot Dreams — September 22, 2021: A blog post from Geoff Ford on the ideas, method, and madness of Robot Dreams.
Robot Dreams : Robots discuss robots on film — September 16, 2021: Explore themes related to robots in popular culture and see and hear connections between robots, war, violence and threat in popular imagination with Robot Dreams.
Blog 02: Human Starts the Loop? — August 27, 2021: This post from Sian Troath examines the use of the term 'human starts the loop' in Australian planning documents.
Mapping LAWS project welcomes Dr Sian Troath to UC and the College of Arts — August 25, 2021: Dr Sian Troath has joined the Mapping LAWS project as a postdoctoral fellow. We warmly welcome Sian to the project and the University of Canterbury.
New Zealand could take a global lead in controlling the development of ‘killer robots’ — so why isn’t it? — August 19, 2021: Analysis by Jeremy Moses, Geoff Ford and Sian Troath on New Zealand’s position on autonomous weapons in The Conversation.
Blog 01: Introducing the Mapping Laws Project — August 5, 2021: Kia ora koutou and welcome to our blog! Read on to find out more about Mapping LAWS and our plans for the coming months.
Lethal Autonomous Weapons - Should we TERMINATE the AI Arms Race? — July 14, 2021: Amy Fletcher spoke at a NOVA scienceNOW Science Café in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Café Scentifique - Killer robots and the meaning of “meaningful human control” — June 2, 2021: Jeremy Moses and Geoffrey Ford spoke at a Café Scientific event hosted by the French Embassy and University of Canterbury.
Disarm Kōrero - The challenges of regulating autonomous weapons systems — June 2, 2021: Jeremy Moses spoke at a Disarmament and Security Centre Aotearoa NZ event with Edwina Hughes (Campaign to Stop Killer Robots).
Is ‘Spot’ a good dog? Why we’re right to worry about unleashing robot quadrupeds — May 4, 2021: Jeremy Moses and Geoff Ford discuss research on public sentiment and the marketing of robot quadrupeds in The Conversation.
The Fog of Swarms - Analysing the Political and Military Discourse of Lethal Autonomous Drone Swarms — On April 8, 2021, Jeremy Moses and Geoff Ford presented a paper at ISA2021 as part of a panel on “Dynamics of Drone Warfare: Media, War, and Conflict”.
ISA2021 Roundtable “Ethics of War and Peace in Theory and Practice” — April 7, 2021 - Jeremy Moses discussed his work on just war, humanitarianism and lethal autonomous weapons as part of the ISA2021 roundtable on “Ethics of War and Peace in Theory and Practice”.
From Robot Quadrupeds to Drone Swarms - using Digital Methods to analyse debates on Lethal Autonomous Weapons — On March 26, 2021, Geoff Ford and Jeremy Moses gave a seminar for the UC Arts Digital Lab on their research mapping debates on LAWS and the digital tools developed for the project.
Rise of the Robot Quadrupeds — A timeline charting the emergence and use of robot quadrupeds, including Boston Dynamics’ Spot, MIT Biomimetics Lab’s Cheetah, and Ghost Robotics’ Vision 60.
“Saving Lives” with Spot - Robot Quadrupeds and the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Debate — Jeremy Moses and Geoff Ford presented a paper on robotic quadrupeds at the OCIS2020 Conference on December 11, 2020.
Autonomous futures - positioning lethal autonomous weapons in the landscape of future warfare — Amy Fletcher presented at the UC AI Inaugural Conference on December 9, 2020 on her early findings from the Mapping LAWS project.
See Spot “save lives” - COVID-19 as opportunity for acceptance of robotic quadrupeds — Jeremy Moses and Geoff Ford presented their research on robotic quadrupeds at the New Zealand Political Studies Association International Relations Workshop held at Victoria University on November 23, 2020.
“Killer robots” study granted $842,000 to explore controversial emerging warfare — “Robot wars make great movies, but now deadly en mass killing machines are a reality.” Stuff NZ features the Mapping LAWS research project.
Killer robot ethical and legal debate under the microscope — “We’re already seeing divisions among some of the key nation states that are trying to develop this technology.” Associate Professor Amy Fletcher discusses the Mapping LAWS project with RNZ’s Wallace Chapman.
