Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Vatican's Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva, pushed for the move, highlighting the moral implications of allowing machines to make life-and-death decisions without human oversight.

In an address on 26th August, Balestrero emphasised the Vatican's concern over the ethical dimensions of using AI-driven "lethal autonomous weapons" (LAWs) in warfare.

"It is profoundly distressing" Balestrero emphasised, "that, adding to the suffering caused by armed conflicts, the battlefields are also becoming testing grounds for more and more sophisticated weapons."

In particular, he insisted that autonomous weapons systems can never be considered "morally responsible entities".

"The human person, endowed with reason, possesses a unique capacity for moral judgement and ethical decision-making that cannot be replicated by any set of algorithms, no matter how complex" Balestrero said.

Weapons restrictions

The Vatican's push comes as Josep Borrell, the EU's top foreign policy official, advocated for fewer restrictions on Ukraine's use of weapons supplied by EU nations.

"The weaponry that we are providing to Ukraine has to have full use, and the restrictions have to be lifted in order for the Ukrainians to be able to target the places where Russia is bombing them. Otherwise, the weaponry is useless" Borrell told reporters.

While traditional weaponry remains predominant in the Ukraine conflict, there is a growing emphasis on AI-driven systems.

Reports suggest Ukraine has become a testing ground for new technologies including autonomous drones. These systems require human intervention to lock onto targets, but experts warn that future advancements could diminish this role, raising significant ethical and safety concerns.

Similarly, Israel has employed autonomous systems in its ongoing conflict in Gaza. However, they use technologies capable of identifying and suggesting targets without human input.

Israel reportedly uses an AI system called "Habsora" to identify bombing targets inside Gaza. It is said to be capable of doing so at a rate much higher than manual detection.

In that context, Balestrero distinguished between a "choice" and a "decision", arguing that the latter is a human act that involves weighing ethical considerations such as human dignity.

"No machine should ever make the decision to take a human life" Balestrero declared.

Sources

Crux Now

CathNews New Zealand

The potential of having "swarms of ‘kamikaze' mini-drones" and other advanced weaponry using artificial intelligence raises "serious implications for peace and security," the Vatican permanent observer mission to UN agencies in Geneva said in a statement Aug. 3 to the 2021 Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS).

"The use of swarms in urban areas could lead to high risks for civilians," the statement said. "If functioning without any direct human supervision, such systems could make mistakes in identifying the intended targets due to some unidentified ‘bias' induced by their ‘self-learning capabilities' developed from a limited set of data samples."

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Jurkovic is the Vatican observer to the United Nations (UN) agencies in Geneva.

He told a UN session for the "Group of Governmental Experts" on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) that autonomous systems would undermine efforts to achieve peace through dialogue.

These systems "would lead us imperceptibly to dehumanisation and to a weakening of the bonds of a true and lasting fraternity of the human family," he said.

LAWS technologies are also referred to as robotic weapons or "killer robots."

Jurkovic said developing LAWS "will provide the capacity of altering irreversibly the nature of warfare, becoming even more inhumane, putting in question the humanity of our societies.

"Any armed intervention must be carefully weighed and must at all times verify its legitimacy, legality and conformity with its purposes, which must also be both ethically and legally legitimate."

Jurkovic says these tasks are becoming too complex and nuanced to be entrusted to a machine.

He pointed out machines "would be ineffective when facing moral dilemmas or questions raised by the application of the so-called principle of ‘double effect'".

He explained the double effect: "The Catholic principle teaches it is morally acceptable to pursue a good goal that could have an unintended evil effect if and when there is a proportionate or adequate reason for allowing the evil."

Jurkovic told the UN that robotisation and dehumanisation of warfare present several serious ethical and legal problems.

As an example, he said increased automation will blur or erase accountability and the "traceability of the use of force with an accurate identification of those responsible.

"Such loss or dilution of responsibility induces a total lack of accountability for violations of both international humanitarian law and international human rights law and could progressively incite to war."

Furthermore, he said autonomous weapons systems don't have "unique human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making," which involves input much more complex than a "collection of algorithms."

They cannot understand a situation or context and apply the appropriate rule or principles, since such discernment or judgment "entails going well beyond the potentialities of algorithms.

"The idea of a war waged by non-conscious and non-responsible autonomous weapons systems appears to hide a lure for dominance that conceals desperation and a dangerous lack of confidence in the human person.

"International security and peace are best achieved through the promotion of a culture of dialogue and cooperation, not through an arms race."

Source

• Catholic Herald
• Vice
• Image: CNN