In an unstable geopolitical climate, the UK’s strategic defence review focused on improving national resilience, from critical infrastructure security to technology and innovation. Many of the review’s recommendations have to do with transforming defence through artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy, to make the armed forces “ten times more lethal”.
These recommendations and investments – drones, autonomous systems and £1 billion for a “digital targeting web” that would connect weapons systems – may well make the armed forces more lethal. But this comes at a risk to the ethical and legal integrity of the military.
