Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what ethical frameworks are in place to guide the (a) development and (b) deployment of AI technologies in defence.

We have a duty to use the best technologies to protect the UK’s interests, and we also have a duty to use these technologies in line with our legal obligations and the values of the public we serve.

All development and deployment of AI in Defence must be legal and responsible. We have set out our Responsible AI policy framework in the Dependable AI JSP 936. This mandates that all AI use cases address specific AI safety, ethical and legal considerations, in line with our five AI ethical principles published in the ‘Ambitious, Safe, Responsible’ policy paper in June 2022.