CFR experts: the autonomous weapons debate still has a definition problem
mchorowitz · x · 2026-10-16
Michael C. Horowitz and Lauren Kahn argue at the Council on Foreign Relations that autonomous weapons and frontier AI safety are different problems, and a decade of debate remains stuck on definitions. Autonomy is a spectrum defined by technology and human employment choices—'how autonomous' rather than 'is it autonomous.' Modern military systems have embedded substantial autonomy for decades. Their framework: all weapon systems ⊃ autonomous weapon systems ⊃ AI-using weapon systems, with weapons AI generally not being frontier LLMs. Both authors served in Defense Department policy roles.
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