From my reading, I consider three main features of AWSs in order to evaluate the risk they present:
arms race avoidance: I agree that the proliferation of AWSs is a good test bed for international coordination on safety, which extends to the widespread implementation of safe powerful AI systems in general. I’d say this extends to AGI, were we would need all (or at least the first, or only some, depending on takeoff speeds) such deployed systems to conform to safety standards.
leverage: I agree that AWSs would have much greater damage/casualties per cost, or per human operator. I have a question regarding persistent autonomous weapons which, much like landmines, do not require human operators at all once deployed: what, in that case, would be the limiting component of their operation? Ammo, energy supply?
value alignment: the relevance of this AI safety problem to the discussion would depend, in my opinion, on what exactly is included in the OODA loop of AWSs. Would weapon systems have ways to act in ways that enable their continued operation without frequent human input? Would they have other ways than weapons to influence their environment? If they don’t, is the worst-case damage they can do capped at the destruction capabilities they have at launch?
I would be interested by a further investigation on the risk brought by various kinds of autonomy, expected time between human command and impact, etc.
Thank you for this clear and well-argued piece.
From my reading, I consider three main features of AWSs in order to evaluate the risk they present:
arms race avoidance: I agree that the proliferation of AWSs is a good test bed for international coordination on safety, which extends to the widespread implementation of safe powerful AI systems in general. I’d say this extends to AGI, were we would need all (or at least the first, or only some, depending on takeoff speeds) such deployed systems to conform to safety standards.
leverage: I agree that AWSs would have much greater damage/casualties per cost, or per human operator. I have a question regarding persistent autonomous weapons which, much like landmines, do not require human operators at all once deployed: what, in that case, would be the limiting component of their operation? Ammo, energy supply?
value alignment: the relevance of this AI safety problem to the discussion would depend, in my opinion, on what exactly is included in the OODA loop of AWSs. Would weapon systems have ways to act in ways that enable their continued operation without frequent human input? Would they have other ways than weapons to influence their environment? If they don’t, is the worst-case damage they can do capped at the destruction capabilities they have at launch?
I would be interested by a further investigation on the risk brought by various kinds of autonomy, expected time between human command and impact, etc.