News briefing 25 Nov-6 Dec 2024

Autonomy in weapons systems, and AI in security and defence

• 161 states vote against the machine at the UN General Assembly: UNGA Resolution L.77, adopted on November 5, 2024, addresses the risks of autonomous weapons systems. Backed by 161 states, it mandates informal consultations in 2025 to explore ethical and human rights aspects and complements ongoing talks under the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). The number of states that have voted shows the incredible  support from states and ‘expands discussions in 2025, mandating talks in New York including all states for the first time.’ ‘It is extremely disappointing that this resolution does not reflect the clear desire of the majority of the international community to urgently launch negotiations on a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.’
• UN Moves to Expand Autonomous Weapons Discussions: The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 2, 2024, calling for informal consultations in 2025 to discuss the regulation of autonomous weapons systems. This follows years of stalled progress in achieving international agreements on the issue. The resolution, passed with 166 votes in favor, emphasizes concerns about global security, the risk of an arms race, and ethical issues posed by AI-controlled weapons. While experts see the move as a modest step, they remain critical of the slow pace and lack of commitment to binding regulations. The consultations aim to elevate the issue on the global agenda and explore proposals for international controls. A piece covered by Human Rights Watch also calls for urgent action here. 
• European AI specialist Helsing unveils attack drone: The article discusses the European AI defense start-up Helsing that has recently unveiled its new attack drone, the HX-2.
• The Summit of the Future brings to life a Pact for the Future: The Pact for the Future, adopted at the UN Summit of the Future on September 22, 2024, marks a historic step in modernizing global governance to address contemporary challenges. The pact aims to equip international institutions to better navigate today’s rapidly changing world and prepare for future challenges. It brings together a range of commitments and goals, including peace and security, sustainable development, digital cooperation, and a focus on youth and future generations. Under peace matters, the regulation of emerging technologies, including autonomous weapons, is raised to try to ensure they adhere to international humanitarian law.
• International: Do AI Decision Support Systems ‘Support’ Humans in Military Decision-Making on the Use of Force?: This piece by Anna Nadibaidze in OpinioJuris in association with the International Commission of Jurists focuses on AI-enabled decision support systems. Nadibaidze says that human agency is essential not just for compliance with international humanitarian law, but also to ensure humanity ‘in the complex targeting decision-making process, especially in contexts of urban warfare with a high risk of affecting civilians.’ 

Facial recognition, biometric identification, surveillance 

• US: DHS needs to better assess bias, privacy impact of AI surveillance: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released an audit report highlighting the lack of uniform policies and measures by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while using AI tools. Biometric Update reports that GAO’s audit raises concerns about privacy risk and policies to assess and mitigate bias. 
• Netherlands: Dutch police identified 424 suspects with facial recognition last year: NL Times reports that the ‘Dutch police have significantly expanded their use of facial recognition technology to identify suspects, relying on a new algorithm that has improved their ability to match images with criminal databases.’ The Central Automated Technology for Recognition (CATCH), ‘facilitated the identification of 424 of suspects in 2023, marking a substantial increase over the previous year.’ 
• UK: Face recognition used to identify riot suspects: This piece in BBC reports on the use of facial recognition technology by the Northumbria police department to identify suspects allegedly involved in the riots in Sunderland. While civil society organisations have raised concerns that facial recognition is ‘dangerously unregulated’, the Northumbria police said that they are expected to ‘use every tactic at our disposal to help identify potential suspects.’ 
• UK: UK govt publishes $25M tender for live facial recognition: Biometric Update reports that ‘UK’s law enforcement agencies are seeking live facial recognition (LFR) suppliers in a new tender worth up to £20 million ($25.2 million).’ The aim of this initiative is to ‘compare live camera feeds of faces against watchlists to locate persons of interest’ through the establishment of a national multi-supplier framework for the technology.