Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have a comprehensive cyber security assessment procedure for proposed weapon systems that operate at a high level of complexity.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) uses a number of information assurance and cyber security activities to ensure weapon systems are appropriately protected. However, for the purpose of safeguarding national security, the MOD does not comment publicly on the specifics of these activities.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the Ministry of Defence's definition of an autonomous weapons system since the publication of the report of the House of Lords Artificial Intelligence Committee AI in the UK: Ready, Willing and Able on 16 April 2018.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Her Majesty's Government has received some representations on this subject from Parliamentarians. The House of Lords report recommended that "the UK's definition of autonomous weapons should be realigned to be the same, or similar, as that used by the rest of the world". However, the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Group of Government Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems is yet to achieve consensus on an internationally accepted definition or set of characteristics for autonomous weapons.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the relationship between increasing autonomy in weapons systems and cyber security.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Cyber security considerations are an integral part of the development and accreditation of military capabilities. The Ministry of Defence research programme also funds research on cyber security across the range of military capabilities, including those that could have an autonomous element. The United Kingdom does not possess fully autonomous weapon systems and has no intention of developing them.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what meetings, if any, ministers and special advisers have held on autonomy in weapons systems during the last year.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Ministers and special advisers have not held any meetings specifically addressing autonomy in weapons systems. However, as investment in technology-led modernisation is a key part of maintaining our national defence and security capabilities, Ministers and special advisers are routinely briefed on this subject.