Dhaka warns intl community against developing new weapons

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has called upon the international community to steer clear of developing any new weapons, especially autonomous weapons, for the sake of humanity.

He is attending an international conference titled “Humanity at the Crossroads: Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Challenge of Regulation” in Vienna, the foreign ministry said.

He participated in a high-level panel discussion on the challenges of regulating the autonomous weapon systems on Monday, where the Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco, Norwegian State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson and President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger also joined as co-panellists.

Hasan underscored the importance of the benevolent application of AI in agriculture, medical science, space exploration, climate change, and job creation for the benefit of mankind, and not in weapon systems to wipe out humanity.

He posed a question of what would happen to international peace and security if non-state actors and terrorist organizations get access to AI-driven autonomous weapon systems.

The foreign minister highlighted the importance of preserving human control over the use of force.

He underscored that machines with the power and discretion to take human lives must be prohibited by legally binding international laws both for AI and autonomous weapons.

He suggested setting global norms to effectively regulate autonomous weapons systems.

Highlighting the precarious situation in Gaza, he also cautioned the international community against opening a new front of conflicts and tensions.

The Ministry of European and International Affairs of Austria has organized the conference and it is being participated by more than 800 delegates from over 120 states, UN bodies, rights groups and INGOs.