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6 September 2021
In the new podcast series ‘Lethal Autonomous Weapons: 10 Things We Want to Know’ launched in July, Professor Paola Gaeta and her research team discuss with other experts the challenges and problems raised by lethal autonomous weapons (‘LAWS‘).
The series will run until December 2021 with one episode published every other Wednesday.
The podcast is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Simplecast.
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The 10 episodes are of interest to students, practitioners, researchers and all those who want to enhance their knowledge of thorny issues related to the development and use of LAWS.
For instance, the podcast discusses issues such as the concept of autonomy in weapon systems, the compatibility of LAWS with international humanitarian law (IHL), of the question of the attribution of responsibility in case of failures of autonomous weapons, whether LAWS are ethical, and the respect for human rights when LAWS are used in law enforcement operations.
‘This podcast series has an interview format, and we get to talk to amazing people on burning questions related to algorithmic warfare and the development of lethal autonomous weapons. It will enrich the knowledge and curiosity of all those who want to enhance their understanding of the scope, implications and risks of increasing autonomy in weapons systems’ explains Professor Gaeta.
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This podcast series is part of larger research led by Professor Gaeta on the LAWS and War Crimes based at the International Law Department of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
The project focuses on the criminal responsibility of the user of autonomous weapons and of the human-operator in mixed systems, as it is in this area that the risk of a responsibility gap is greatest.
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Besides Professor Gaeta, the podcast series involves our former Teaching Assistant Dr Alessandra Spadaro, a Research Associate in Professor Gaeta's research team.
In episode 3, which has just been released, Professor Marco Sassòli also discusses whether lethal autonomous weapons, also called killer robots, can comply with international humanitarian law.
The podcast covers issues addressed in Professor Gaeta's course on international criminal law for our LLM students, in particular the question of criminal responsibility for war crimes committed on the battlefield.
Graduate Institute
Geneva Academy
Organized with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, this event explored legal gaps and accountability failures in global arms transfers.
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Our new research brief examines the complex relationship between digital technologies and their misuse in surveillance, cyberattacks, and disinformation campaigns.
ICRC
Co-hosted with the ICRC, this event aims to enhance the capacity of academics to teach and research international humanitarian law, while also equipping policymakers with an in-depth understanding of ongoing legal debates.
This training course will delve into the means and mechanisms through which national actors can best coordinate their human rights monitoring and implementation efforts, enabling them to strategically navigate the UN human rights system and use the various mechanisms available in their day-to-day work.
Participants in this training course will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms.
The Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts project (RULAC) is a unique online portal that identifies and classifies all situations of armed violence that amount to an armed conflict under international humanitarian law (IHL). It is primarily a legal reference source for a broad audience, including non-specialists, interested in issues surrounding the classification of armed conflicts under IHL.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy