[2022-2023]

Principal Researcher:
João Reis
Nuno Melão
Duration: 2022 – 2023

Cised team members
Nuno Melão

Technological innovations such as robotics and artificial intelligence have enabled the development of intelligent autonomous systems in the defence sector. However, it is common for decision‐makers to have doubts about what kind of decisions should be transferred to these systems. On the other hand, international law stipulates that the responsibility for the use of weapons systems rests with humans and cannot be transferred to machines. Thus, another important challenge is to determine the degree of human‐machine interaction in intelligent autonomous systems. To help address these issues, this project aims to identify the attributes and degree of automation/humanization of intelligent autonomous systems developed by the military industry in Portugal. This project will contribute to the production of knowledge about autonomous military systems, as well as to ensure that lethal decision‐making processes are not transferred to machines, thus meeting legal and ethical concerns.