PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago’s Attorney General, Reginald Armour, says Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries must not hesitate in their preparations in dealing with the use of and threats associated with lethal autonomous weapons.

Armour, addressing a two-day Caricom Regional Workshop on Achieving the Universalization of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, said the region is not immune to the potential risks posed by the development

“It is, therefore, our duty to come together as we are doing now and, in fact, to build off of the solid security foundation laid thus far by maximising this opportunity to exchange knowledge and to collaborate on finding solutions that protect our societies and uphold universal humanitarian principles,” Armour said.

He told the conference that striking the right balance between harnessing the benefits of technology and upholding commitments to human rights and international law is an “intricate challenge” that requires collective wisdom and collaboration.

“Having a collective position on the adherence to the provisions of the majority of multilateral disarmament and arms control treaties is a long-standing paragon tradition. It serves as a demonstration of our well-established commitment to a rules-based regime governing international relations among states.

“As Caricom member states, we have committed and have already demonstrated our endeavours in strengthening the efforts to address the issue of lethal autonomous weapons systems,” Armour said, adding that the 15-member regional integration grouping has the opportunity to lead by example and to be at the forefront of international efforts on this issue.”

He urged delegates to remember that the decisions taken here “will have far-reaching consequences not only for our region but for the entire world.

“I call on all participants present today to use this forum which provides a significant opportunity to start the discussions with your respective governments on the issues raised,” Armour said.

The Executive Director of the Trinidad-based Caricom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), Lieutenant Colonel Michael Jones, told the conference that the world is rapidly changing and technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are “quickly growing and expanding, transforming all areas of society, including advances in weapon technologies”.

He warned that weapon technologies may have “detrimental implications” for the maintenance of peace and security as well as the protection of civilians and civil infrastructure.

Jones said that this raises questions about the sufficiency of existing government frameworks and the proliferation of such weapons to non-state actors.

“Criminal groups, gangs and terrorists, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control policies pay active attention to emerging technologies and their implications. So akin to how trade differences have spawned a rise in the manufacturing of privately made firearms and autonomous parts, so too with AI and robotics are revolutionising law enforcement, security, conflicts, warfare and weapon systems, including the emergence of lethal autonomous weapon systems,” Jones said.

“That is, machines which, once activated, can identify, engage, and destroy targets on their own without further intervention by a human operator,” the IMPACS official said, noting that the lack of human control in the decision-making processes of these weapons raises “significant legal, ethical and moral concerns”.

He told delegates that it also “questions the conformity of these weapons with applicable international humanitarian or international human rights law and the issues of accountability and responsibility in the event of civilian murder or other unintended consequences.

Jones said an international, legal framework is essential to address this, adding “a critical format which lethal autonomous weapon systems are mainly addressed is the Convention on Certified Action Weapons (CCW). The challenge is that only four Caribbean member states are high-contracting parties to the CCW. Moreover, since the CCW and the evaluation process commenced in Geneva in 2014, only one Caribbean high-contracting party of the CCW, of one Caribbean observer state, has attended a CCW conference regarding lethal autonomous weapon systems.

“Hence, our voices are not heard, our views are not considered, and our perspectives are not part of the conversation, nor are our needs or ideas addressed in discussions relating to lethal autonomous weapon systems,” Jones said, noting that the perspectives of small-island developing states will add value to these discussions so Caribbean countries “have a seat at the table.

“For our interest to be factored into national instruments, we must be active players in the discussions of the rule. Therefore, my key aim of this workshop is to support states that are not part of the UN CCW to gain a more in-depth understanding of the purpose and function of the convention, as well as the benefits of joining, and to encourage them to become more involved in CCW meetings, relevant activities, and other related regional and global forums.”

He said the region needs to enhance its shared awareness and technical literacy of all AI technologies.