UK Defense Ministry Considers AI-Driven Target Selection in Warfare

The Financial Times reported that British Deputy Defense Minister Alistair Carnes stated his ministry is examining the option to permit artificial intelligence (AI) to make decisions on strikes against enemy targets without human involvement.

The newspaper highlighted a core ethical limitation in modern warfare upheld by the British Ministry of Defense: humans must always select the targets of combat systems. However, amid the rapid advancement of unmanned combat aircraft, some officials argue that human intervention may not be necessary.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Carnes mentioned that exceptional circumstances might arise where AI could independently decide on target selection.

Carnes added, "I always say that humans must be involved. There must always be the capability to remove the human from the control chain if necessary, because for our adversaries, it does not matter whether a human is in the chain or not."

The report noted that the current British military doctrine does not exclude the use of AI in combat but stipulates that human involvement in target selection should always occur "if appropriate to the context."

In February, British authorities initiated a review of their drone usage doctrine "to align it with modern threats."