With the Ukrainian conflict as a catalyst, the threat is becoming clearer. Autonomous drones capable of destroying targets without human intervention, or even killing them, are about to burst onto the battlefield en masse. A technological turning point in the arsenal previously deployed in times of war. “In Ukraine, the temptation is crazy», noted last December Henri Seydoux, the boss of Parrot. He was speaking during a hearing of some leaders of the drone sector at the National Assembly, within the framework of the National Defense and Armed Forces Commission. His company is one of the rare French players, also with Delair, to send drones intended to support the Ukrainian army.
Inexpensive, insensitive to GPS jamming, not dependent on the number of more or less well-trained pilots, equipped with ultra-precise targeting systems… For Ukraine, these drones made automated with a lot of artificial intelligence could constitute an element decisive against the Russian giant. In 2021, a UN report stated that devices of this type had undoubtedly been used in Libya a year earlier. Today, large-scale use is looming. “Killer robots are about to fill the Ukrainian skies,” headlined the Wall Street Journal on November 15, detailing this dynamic underpinned by now inexpensive equipment. From concept, they have evolved into operational weapons.
Towards international regulation?
-The fact remains that their use, today in Ukraine as a testing ground, tomorrow in new conflict zones, portends dark consequences in the future. Hence the alert launched by Henri Seydoux, especially since the leader admits: once delivered, it is impossible to know what use is really made of its lurking weapons by the armies. Certainly, as with other technologies involving artificial intelligence, we can argue that it is enough for humans to always remain in the decision-making loop. But during an armed conflict, it is easy to imagine that this dike would be very fragile. Especially since the technologies involved are largely developed by digital players, who are much less familiar with international frameworks.
However, it is possible to act. Just as the use of combat gases during the First World War was banned in 1925 by the Geneva Protocol, that of armed autonomous drones could also be. “It is very important that democratic countries are extremely firm that autonomous weapons must be banned», insisted Henri Seydoux. An international treaty could limit the use of these new generation weapons, at least above a certain threshold of autonomy. This political issue is emerging even as leaders with little inclination to regulation have recently come to power. Worrying.
