A Review of Superintelligent AI for Development of Autonomous Weapons Systems
Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Autonomous weapons systems, Explainability, Sensor fusion, Superintelligent AIAbstract
The swift advancement in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has sparked growing interest in the potential for superintelligent AI architectures to develop extremely effective Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS). This review investigates how advanced theories of decision-making, sensor fusion, perception, autonomous navigation, and target-engagement decision-making now operate, or could operate if we consider superintelligence. It examines multi-objective optimization for target selection; real-time strategic planning; adaptive learning during combat; multi-modal, sensor-fused, reliable perception; obstacle avoidance and swarm coordination; and human-machine interfaces and communications. It then reflects on the legal, ethical, and security implications, including compliance with international humanitarian law, value alignment, human dignity, adversarial and cyber security risks, and governance and oversight questions. Finally, it summarizes essential technical challenges and research directions for the future, including some combinations of computational and hardware constraints, explainability, testing and validation, human oversight mechanisms, and emerging integration issues. The review concludes by asserting that while superintelligent AI holds remarkable promise for AWS enhancements, the resulting risk profile remains high, particularly around accountability, misuse, and unintended harm, as well as governance. The responsible way forward will require a combination of technology safeguards, legal reform, and robust international treaty mechanisms.
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