Statement at the opening of Working Group II on Emerging Technologies

at the United Nations Disarmament Commission

During the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

New York, 3 April 2024

Mr. Chair,

Allow me to congratulate you on your election as chair of this Working Group. You have the full support of the Holy See’s Delegation in carrying out this important work.

As Pope Francis observed in Laudato Si’, “our immense technological development has not been accompanied by a development in human responsibility, values and conscience”.[1] The promised rewards and apparent risks of emerging technologies have global implications, which require cooperation on the part of States, in conjunction with international organizations, to regulate them in a preventative manner.[2]

True progress can only be found in the application of emerging technologies to the pursuit of justice and peace, rather than aggravating inequalities and conflicts.[3] As this Working Group seeks to build transparency and confidence between States regarding the military application of such technologies, it is essential that the concept of human dignity remains central to discussions, as well as the recognition that “a person’s fundamental value cannot be measured by data alone”.[4] It is also important to avoid what Pope Francis describes as the “technocratic paradigm”, according to which all technological progress is legitimate and meritorious in itself. Rather, “[n]ot every increase in power represents progress for humanity […]. Contrary to this technocratic paradigm, we say that the world that surrounds us is not an object of exploitation, unbridled use and unlimited ambition.”[5] Only be keeping the universal dignity of the human person as the point of departure, and the pursuit of the common good as the objective, can our discussions avoid falling into this risk.

Within the military domain, the use of “remote control systems has led to a lessened perception of the devastation caused by those weapon systems and the burden of responsibility for their use, resulting in an even more cold and detached approach to the immense tragedy of war”.[6] The development and use of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) that lack the appropriate human control would pose fundamental ethical concerns, given that LAWS can never be morally responsible subjects capable of complying with international humanitarian law. Given such concerns, “it is imperative to ensure adequate, meaningful and consistent human oversight of weapon systems”.[7]

Although the purview of this Working Group is limited to the context of international security, it must be noted that any treatment of emerging technologies here remains intimately linked to the “meaning of human existence, the protection of fundamental human rights and the pursuit of justice”.[8] Without considering these related concerns, it will prove difficult to build confidence in a manner that promotes lasting peace.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[1] Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, 24 May 2015, 105.

[2] Cf. Pope Francis, Message for the 57th World Day of Peace, 1 January 2024.

[3] Cf. Idem.

[4] Pope Francis, Address to Participants in the “Minerva Dialogues”, 27 March 2023.

[5] Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum, 4 October 2023, nn. 24-25.

[6] Pope Francis, Message for the 57th World Day of Peace, 1 January 2024.

[7] Idem.

[8] Idem.