Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at a press conference on Saturday morning expressed their divided stances on matters concerning autonomous weapons, intelligence sharing, and an alleged ‘Eastern front’ sparking divide over the military alliance.
The U.S said it believes human judgment is not a requirement under international law for such matters whereas Spain stated that “it is highly immoral for a machine that is not commanded by any human to just destroy civilian lives.” Spain expressed further concern over such weapons being purchased by opposing power, and the disastrous consequences that may pose.
France clarified the misunderstanding of a supposed Eastern front, confirming that such language was unintentional and misspoken, and Eastern Europe is only intended to be referred to as a ‘flank.’
“We have reason to suspect that some members might abuse certain amounts of information, however we want to note that that does not diminish our willingness to cooperate,” the Greek representative said.
The German delegate stated: “We understand that different nations have different national interests. However, we need to sometimes share information in order to enhance our collective security.”
Regarding a consensus on the definition of a ‘cyber attack,’ the U.S said it believes, along with some allies, that there is an element of deterrence in being overly specific to what a cyber attack means, for strategic reasons as well as legal ones. The U.S delegate added that coming to a definition is not necessary for this solution.
As of now, the current focus is on the creation of guidelines in accordance with their management system.
Spain and Norway ended the conference with assurance in the democratic and respectful nature of NATO, and their belief in creation of a collaborative resolution.
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