Artificial Intelligence in Weapon Systems Committee Report

Lord Bishop of Newcastle Excerpts

Friday 19th April 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Newcastle]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Lisvane, for his opening summary of this important report and to the noble Lord, Lord Stevens, for his remarks just delivered, reminding us of the maritime context of this debate as well. I also thank those involved in the creation of the report. Perhaps this alone is worth noting: AI did not produce this report; human beings did.

My friend the right reverend Prelate the former Bishop of Coventry was a member of the committee producing the report and he will be delighted that it is receiving the attention it deserves. He is present today, and I hope he does not mind me speaking on his behalf in this regard.

The principles of just war are strongly associated with the Christian moral tradition, in which it is for politicians to ensure that any declaration of war is just and then for the military to pursue that war’s aims by just means. In both cases, justice must be measured against the broader moral principles of proportionality and discrimination. This, then, is where AI begins to raise important and urgent questions. AI opens new avenues of military practice that cannot be refused, together with new risks that must not be ignored. The report rightly says that we must “proceed with caution”, but it does say “proceed”. Here, there is an opportunity for the UK to fulfil its commitment to offer leadership in this sphere in the international field.

There is a risk of shifting the decision-making process and the moral burden for each outcome on to a system that has no moral capacity and too much opacity. To implement AI’s benefits well, military cultural values need to be named, explained and then translated into AWS’ command and control—especially where the meaning of “just” diverges from the kind of utilitarian calculus that most easily “aligns” digital processes with moral choice.

Inherent human values, including virtue, should also be embedded in the development, not just the deployment, of new AI-enabled weapon systems. As recent use of AI systems shows in the context of global conflict, AI changes questions of proportionality and discrimination. When a database identifies 37,000 potential targets using “apparent links” to an enemy, or an intelligence officer says

“The machine did it coldly. And that made it easier”,


it is vital to attach human responsibility to each action.

AWS designed according to military culture will, at best, practically strengthen the moral aspects of just war by reducing or eliminating collateral damage, but we should guard against a cultural rewiring or feedback loop that dilutes or corrodes the moral human responsibility that just war depends on. It is reassuring, therefore, as other noble Lords have noted, to see a clear statement that accountability cannot be delegated to a machine in the Government’s response to the report, together with the Government’s commitment to fully uphold national and international law.

Current events across the globe and the rapid pace of development of AI in both civil and military contexts make this a timely and important debate. I commend the committee, and those in government and in the MoD charged with transforming its helpful insights and practical recommendations into concrete action.

Public confidence and democratic endorsement of any plans the Government might have in the development of AI are vital. I therefore urge the Government to commit to ensuring public confidence and education in their ongoing response to this report.