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The Gathering Swarm: The Path To Increasingly Autonomous Weapons Systems, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Unbeknownst to many, Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWS) have existed for decades, but they have largely been defensive and anti-material. However, as increasingly advanced defensive LAWS, such as complex swarming systems, become more prominent, states will assuredly develop ways to counter, including offensive LAWS. Certainly, the near-term developmental focus of such systems will be on operational environments in which there are relatively low risk of injury or death to civilians or untoward incidents in general, but it is a matter of when, not if, these systems will be widely used in direct combat situations. As such, LAWS are a frequent topic …