Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement in policy document Ambitious, Safe and Responsible: Our approach to the delivery of AI enabled capability in Defence, published on 15 June, that global governance for autonomous weapons systems is "a difficult task", how they plan to respond strategically to identified challenges of global governance in this area; and, in any such strategic response, how they intend to fulfil the aims set out in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published on 16 March 2021, in relation to international legal, ethical and regulatory standards on responsible development and use of artificial intelligence.

The Department is developing its plans to implement its Defence AI Strategy, to address broader strategic issues arising from the Integrated Review. We will work with partners to mitigate the potential impacts of AI, including its proliferation, misuse and potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation.

Particularly relevant fora include the UN-brokered discussions under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), AI Partnership for Defence and NATO; as well as broader discussions on the development of AI within the Global Partnership on AI, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. Compliance with International Humanitarian Law will remain at the core of our current and future standards, which will be rigorously applied to all AI use in Defence.