Germany not to acquire autonomous weapons

Germany does not have any intention to procure autonomous weapons systems, according to the head of the country’s Cyber and Information Space Command, Lieutenant General Ludwig Leinhos. Speaking at an artificial intelligence-focused pre-event held at the Munich Security Conference, Leinhos said that Germany’s position on this matter is clear, but that the country needs to prepare to defend itself against such weapons being used by other countries. He also noted that the issue of autonomous weapons systems needs to be subject to more focused political and legal discussions. During the same session, Mary Wareham, representative of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, said that 22 countries are in favour of a ban on autonomous weapons.