Thursday, 10 Dec 2015 08:30–10:00 UTC+01
Lethal Autonomous Weapons: The Challenge of Accountability
Background:Technological advances in weaponry mean that decisions about the use of force on the battlefield could increasingly be taken by machines operating without human intervention.
Tuesday, 16 May 2017 13:00–14:30 UTC+02
Lethal Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War
Welcome to a discussion on the relationship between artificial intelligence, its likely uses in warfare, and how the technology could be controlled.
Journal Article
In Defense of (Virtuous) Autonomous Weapons
Journal article in Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies
Conference Paper
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Autonomous Weapons-
Conference paper
Policy Brief
Norway’s Policy on Emerging Military Technologies: Widening the Debate on AI and Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems
PRIO Policy Brief
Popular Article
Lethal Autonomous Weapons: Issues for the International Community
Popular article in Security & Defence Agenda
Popular Article
Lethal Autonomous Weapons: Killing the ‘Robots-don’t-Rape’ Argument
Popular article in IntLawGrrls
Friday, 16 May 2014
PRIO Researchers Contribute to Debate on Lethal Autonomous Weapons
Issues for the International Community
Why Would Humans Do Anything Boring, Difficult or Dangerous in Star Wars? Science Fiction’s Reluctance to Embrace Its Own Technology.
This blog post contains spoilers for the first series in Andor, and other science fiction shows.
Hunger, Displacement, and Occupation in Gaza
Outside Gaza, aid convoys are lined up. Food. Water. Medicine. The trucks are not allowed into Gaza because Israel is using humanitarian aid as a political tool to force Hamas into submission.
Defense Procurement and Democratic Debate: From Depoliticization to Repoliticization
Public deliberation on defense procurement could have focused on regulations, reform, or corruption. It has not.
Security Dialogue
Can Videogames Shape Public Understandings of Weaponized Artificial Intelligence?
Image byLukasfromPixabay Millions of consumers play videogames like Call of Duty and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon. The battlefields these series portray increasingly feature drones, tanks, and robots that select and engage targets on their own, thanks...
Global Trade Wars: All Against All — But Where is Africa?
The trade war, unilaterally launched by Donald Trump on April 1, 2025, will go down in global history as a hostile act against globalization and international rules — rules that were once defended by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Unit...
Thursday, 3 Apr 2025
Global Gatherings on AI Weapons and Satellite Imagery: PRIO at UN Forums
PRIO’s engagement with issues around the use of AI was in full display last week, when PRIO researchers joined key UN discussions in Geneva on AI-enabled weapons and satellite technology, contributing expertise on security, ethics and strategic po...
Putin’s Warpath Goes Through Arctic
Russia’s war against Ukraine is stuck in a rigid deadlock. The prospect of agreeing on a ceasefire, which had appeared within reach a couple of weeks ago, has, however, become distant and blurred.
The Transatlantic Rift in the Global Disorder of Trumpism
We are currently experiencing a transitional phase between the world order established after 1945 and a new, yet undefined global order.
American Democracy is in Danger, but Not Dead
Trump and his supporters are undermining American democracy, posing a real threat of democratic breakdown. The consequences would be dramatic, extending far beyond the United States. However, there is still a good chance that democracy, in the end...
Contesting the AI-Cybersecurity Nexus: Lessons Learned from the United Kingdom
In an age where so-called artificial intelligence (AI) seems to revolutionise every corner of our lives, it’s no surprise that its intersection with cybersecurity has become a major focus for governments worldwide. Where cybersecurity and AI were ...
How Colombia’s Disarmament Process Transformed Weapons Into Symbols of Peace
In 2016, the Colombian government and the guerrilla group FARC-EP ended their five decade-long war. As part of the peace agreement, FARC-EP’s weapons had to be collected, a process known as disarmament. By 2017, UN observers had received and remov...
Moscow Seeks to Regain Initiative in the Game of Peace Talks
Jubilation in Moscow after the phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on February 12 has given way to contemplations of the consequences and even to confusion caused by the barrage of statements...
Security Dialogue
Poison: The politics behind pesticides and chemical weapons
Compounds labelled as chemical weapons and pesticides share common active chemical ingredients, which function as nerve agents to humans and insects whether they are considered a form of warfare or a farming staple. Lice: Image from Pixabay Why ar...
Tuesday, 28 Jan 2025
PRIO Director's 2025 Nobel Peace Prize List
The Director of PRIO, Henrik Urdal, announced his list today for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, with Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms topping the list.
Conversations on Ending the War in Ukraine Grow Louder and Emptier
The first week of the “Golden Age” of U.S. policy announced by President Donald Trump registered a stream of messages from the White House on the need to bring the war in Ukraine to an end (White House, January 20). The Kremlin duly responded with...
We Need to Talk About Children Born of War
Every day, children are born in war and armed conflict, in Ukraine, on the Gaza Strip, in South Sudan, in Myanmar and elsewhere. Some of these children might have parents who are enemies, that is, parents who are on opposite sides of the conflict....
Monday, 9 Dec 2024
PRIO secures funding for four new innovative projects
PRIO has successfully secured funding for four new projects to support research addressing today’s critical societal challenges, including two focused on Norwegian security and defence.
Journal Article
A theory of the symbolic role of disarmament during peace processes: The laying down of FARC-EP’s weapons in Colombia
Journal article in Security Dialogue
Popular Article
How Colombia’s disarmament process transformed weapons into symbols of peace
Popular article in The Conversation
Lethal Autonomous Weapons: Killing the ‘Robots-don’t-Rape’ Argument
Earlier this spring, we debated a law professor who insisted that lethal autonomous weapons (LAWS) could clean up war. The professor posited that a war fought with autonomous weapons would be a war without rape. Taking humans out of the loop would...
Lethal Autonomous Weapons: Issues for the International Community
On May 13-16 a United Nations (UN) expert meeting will discuss ‘questions relating to emerging technologies’ in lethal autonomous weapon systems. Such systems are distinguished by being mobile and selecting targets autonomously without direct huma...
Issues for the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots
The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots was launched in April 2013 with the objective of achieving a ban on the development, production and deployment of lethal autonomous weapons. In May 2014, the issue will be discussed by a UN expert meeting under t...