IIIM celebrates that a proposal for Iceland’s support of an international ban of manufacturing and usage of autonomous weapons is being discussed in the Icelandic parliament Althingi.

Research in artificial intelligence and automation has greatly enhanced in the last decade, which is mainly a positive development, since it offers great opportunities for utilization for the benefit of the public and the entire world. The biggest threat to the positive effects of such technology is the ever increasing emphases on armament in the world and the research of the utilization of this technology for a military purpose. An arms race in this field is a threat to piece and prosperity and will increase the likelihood of the misuse of power over the general public through this technology. An international ban can slow down and even hindered this development.

As stated in the proposal for Althingi this cause has lately gained following especially from within the science community. Renowned scientists like Stephen Hawking and 20,000 others supported and signed a letter by the Future Life Institute calling for an international ban of killer machines. In addition discussions have taken place within the UN Human Rights Council. After the council’s meeting in 2013, attended by 20 nations, and again in 2014 a resolution was put forth for a ban of such weapons. Nine countries have already supported such a ban. Two meetings took place in 2015 on the subject, one in Geneva in April and another in New York in October, both attended by representatives from 90 countries. In addition the international organization ICRAC (International Committee for Robot Arms Control) has fought for this cause since 2009.

Iceland is in a good position to offer support to the ban due to its lack of military forces and an unusually peaceful history for all of its 1100 years. IIIM has written a letter to Althingi offering its assistance on projects that might be initiated if Iceland supports this ban, such as defining what kind of automation the ban would apply to, how inspection can be conducted, and on Iceland’s further involvement in this cause.

IIIM’s sister institution and Iceland’s only academic AI research laboratory, CADIA at Reykjavik University, has also sent a letter in support of the resolution to Althingi.