Holy See envoy urges accountability and human control for autonomous weapons

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, told the General Assembly that the rise of autonomous weapons systems demands immediate ethical and legal guardrails. He said the development of these technologies "raises profound moral questions" and argued that international action is needed to prevent an arms race that would endanger civilians and critical infrastructure.

Parolin listed concrete criteria that, he said, should govern any military use of automated systems: the ability to "retrace and reconstruct decision-making processes" so accountability is preserved; that the "decision to use a little force cannot be delegated to opaque or automated processes but must remain under effective self-aware and responsible human control"; and the creation of a shared international framework to curb the technological arms race. "They must serve humanity," he said, arguing the ethical ordering of technology is essential to protect human dignity and life.