Alyson Berrendorf wins FNRS fellowship for her research on the advent of AI in weaponry
Alyson Berrendorf, a doctoral student in the Department of Criminal Law and Procedure, was awarded an FNRS fellowship this summer, which will allow her to continue the development of her thesis on the legal framework for the use of artificial intelligence in the field of armaments and, in particular, autonomous weapons.
Can you tell us more about your research project?
The progression of autonomous technologies is a fact that even the most conservative towards innovation cannot dispute. Currently, the advent of artificial intelligence in the field of weaponry, highlighted by the emergence of autonomous weapons, is now described by various experts, such as Christof Heyns*, as the third greatest revolution in warfare techniques, after gunpowder and nuclear weapons. It is a phenomenon that is both exciting and worrying.
This innovation is obviously the object of all the covetousness of the great military powers of our time who see in it an opportunity to achieve military superiority and an economic stake. It also raises many legal and ethical questions.
However, at the present time, positive law does not seem to be well equipped to deal with this new type of weaponry. This thesis therefore aims to study the issues raised by the total autonomy of weapons from the analytical angle of existing legal frameworks. In addition, it is intended to be forward-looking, insofar as it proposes to address avenues for the legislative regulation of autonomous weapons.
*Christof Heyns – Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions from 2010 to 2016.
How did you come to be interested in this subject?
At the end of my Master of Law degree, I had the opportunity to participate in the Jean-Pictet International Humanitarian Law Competition with two other colleagues from the Faculty. Among the questions asked at the time of selection by the Organizing Committee of the Competition, there was one that dealt with autonomous weapons.
Right from the start, I was fascinated by this novel question and I developed a particular interest in this issue.
What can this subject teach us about today's society?
This is a hot topic in the news that is stirring up passions. On the one hand, there are a number of advantages, notably from an economic point of view, but also from the point of view of the security of soldiers in the field. On the other hand, there are also major ethical, political, technical and legal challenges.
I notice that this subject is often treated in a dramatic way by the media or various organizations that talk about "killer robots", a term that directly evokes the disaster scenario of a blockbuster. The reality is much more nuanced.
In any case, as is often the case with technology, we are faced with a real race against time, as the legal framework must be put in place before these systems can be installed in the field. Several states and international organizations are calling for a preventive ban on the use of these weapons, while others wish to adopt a wait-and-see attitude until the legal framework is in place.
What are the next steps for your research?
I started my thesis several months ago. I have been working on a technical and operational analysis of these systems - a necessary step in order to draw concrete legal conclusions rooted in reality. I am trying to understand how these weapons differ from their predecessors. The next step will be to analyze the legal consequences, both in terms of legality and criminal liability, based on the technical analysis carried out earlier.
His background
Alyson holds a Master's degree in law from the University of Liege, with a specialization in criminal law. Upon completion of her studies, she obtained a position as an assistant in the Criminal Law and Procedure Department. In January 2019, she became a full-time doctoral student in the same department by obtaining a scholarship in Humanities from ULiège. She will become an FNRS Aspirant as ofOctober 1,2020.
