The development and use of lethal autonomous weapons – systems capable of selecting and atttacking targets without human intervention, also known as ‘killer robots,’ – pose significant moral, ethical, legal and practical challenges to the international peace and security as well as public security at the domestic level.
Brazil is one of the states party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and advocates for a legally binding instrument aimed at regulating the development and use of this type of weapons. This stance is aligned with the Brazilian public opinion. According to an opinion poll commissioned by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and conducted in December 2020, 62% of Brazilians are against lethal autonomous weapons systems. Additional interviews conducted by Plataforma CIPÓ with 14 young leaders from different regions of the Brazil between May and July 20201 also shed light to significant concerns related to lethal autonomous weapons systems.
This strategic report, supported by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and authored by Maiara Folly and Arthur Vieira (Plataforma CIPÓ), analyzes the perceptions of young Brazilians about the risks posed by killer robots, as well as their view regarding the role that the Brazilian government should play during the process of negotiating a potential international treaty aimed at restricting, regulating or prohibiting the development and/or use of lethal autonomous weapons systems.
