Articles
Autonomous Systems and Human Control: Where Defence Draws the Line
Marketing and Outreach Team
30 Nov 2025
5 Min Read
An examination of autonomous military systems, human-in-the-loop doctrine, and the technical limits of battlefield autonomy.
TL;DR
True autonomy remains constrained by trust, explainability, and accountability. Defence doctrine increasingly favours human-supervised autonomy over fully independent systems.
1. What Autonomy Really Means
Most so-called autonomous systems operate within tightly bounded rulesets and escalation thresholds.
2. Technical Constraints
Sensor ambiguity
Adversarial deception
Model uncertainty
3. Policy Reality
NATO and allied doctrines require human accountability for lethal decisions.
References
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Marketing and Outreach Team
AIC’s Marketing and Outreach Team builds visibility and trust across Defence and security. We deliver strategic campaigns, thought leadership, and stakeholder engagement while balancing transparency with discretion. Our mission is to position AIC as a trusted, innovative partner to the UK MoD and beyond.
