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Review of the 2023 US Policy on Autonomy in Weapons Systems
webCredibility Rating
4/5
High(4)High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Human Rights Watch
Relevant to AI governance discussions on autonomous weapons regulation; provides a civil society critique of US federal policy and its divergence from emerging international norms on lethal autonomous systems.
Metadata
Importance: 62/100organizational reportanalysis
Summary
Human Rights Watch analyzes the 2023 DoD Directive 3000.09 on autonomous weapons systems, finding it an inadequate revision of the 2012 predecessor that fails to close key loopholes such as senior-level waivers and ambiguous terminology. The directive diverges from growing international consensus—backed by dozens of states, the ICRC, and civil society—calling for legally binding prohibitions on autonomous weapons lacking meaningful human control. It also applies only to DoD, leaving agencies like the CIA ungoverned by any US autonomous weapons policy.
Key Points
- •The 2023 DoD Directive 3000.09 revises but does not substantially improve the 2012 autonomous weapons policy, retaining problematic waivers and ambiguous key terms.
- •The directive adds some design constraints and review requirements but also introduces new definitional ambiguities that weaken oversight.
- •Dozens of countries and the ICRC support a legally binding treaty prohibiting autonomous weapons without meaningful human control; the US directive does not align with this position.
- •The policy applies only to the Department of Defense, excluding the CIA and other agencies, leaving major governance gaps in US autonomous weapons oversight.
- •HRW and Harvard Law's IHRC recommend the US pursue international legally binding instruments and expand domestic policy scope beyond DoD.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous Weapons | Risk | 56.0 |
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[Human Rights Watch](https://www.hrw.org/)
## Review of the 2023 US Policy on Autonomy in Weapons Systems
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# Introduction
A new directive on autonomy in weapons systems issued on January 25, 2023 shows the United States Department of Defense (DoD) is serious about ensuring it has policies and processes in place to guide its development, acquisition, testing, fielding, and use of autonomous weapons systems as well as semi-autonomous weapons systems, such as remotely operated armed drones. The directive, however, constitutes an inadequate response to the serious ethical, legal, accountability, and security concerns and risks raised by autonomous weapons systems.
[Download the full report in English](https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2023/02/DoDrobots_2.13.2023_Final_0.pdf "")
The 2023 DoD Directive 3000.09 on Autonomy in Weapons Systems revises, but does not radically change, the department’s original policy on the topic, released on November 21, 2012. [\[1\]](https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/14/review-2023-us-policy-autonomy-weapons-systems#_ftn1 "") The 2023 directive is valid for a limited period of up to 10 years, as was the case for the 2012 directive. [\[2\]](https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/14/review-2023-us-policy-autonomy-weapons-systems#_ftn2 "")
The 2023 directive maintains the basic structure and substance of its predecessor, and as a result, misses an opportunity to address its shortcomings. [\[3\]](https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/14/review-2023-us-policy-autonomy-weapons-systems#_ftn3 "") For example, it continues to allow certain waivers to senior reviews before the development and fielding of autonomous weapons systems, and it does not remove ambiguity surrounding key terms.
The directive contains some improvements such as the inclusion of additional design constraints and review requirements, but it also adds some problematic amendments, particularly with regards to definitions and terms.
When the original DoD directive on autonomous weapons was issued in 2012, the United States was the first country to put such a detailed policy in the public domain. Since then, many countries have developed their own positions, and dozens have expressed interest in adopting a new treaty that prohibits autonomous weapons systems that operate without meaningful human control or that target people, and that regulates all other autonomous weapons systems to ensure they operate only with meaningful human control. [\[4\]](https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/14/review-2023-us-policy-autonomy-weapons-systems#_ftn4 "") These proposed elements are equally applicable to natio
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