Research Themes

This research theme examines Japanese practices in relation to weapons systems with automated and automated features. These include operational practices of design, development, and deployment, but also extend to a wider range, including Japan’s evolving stances as delivered in the context of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). This is complemented by an analysis of practices performed by civilian developers of AI applications (in relationship with military actors) and how cultural-specific, often fictional representations of weaponised AI and robotics shape public discourse. Practices performed across these different societal contexts in Japan are considered as potentially productive of norms.