Stop Killer Robots and Etica Funds presented their Investor Statement to the Socially Responsible Investor community at New York event
On October 23, Stop Killer Robots along with our partner Etica Funds- Responsible Investments, presented the Investor Statement on Autonomous Weapons at an ICCR (Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility) conference in New York. The statement asserts investors’ concerns about the range of risks posed by the development and use of autonomous weapons and calls for government leaders to urgently launch negotiations on a treaty. Since its establishment in mid-September, 21 institutions, with a combined AUM/AUA of over USD 157 billion, have signed the statement. See the list of signatories below.
We presented the initiative as part of our presentation at the ICCR conference event “Grave New World: Responsible Investment in an age of conflict, commerce, and killer robots”. At this event members of the investor community heard from representatives of Stop Killer Robots, the Heartland Initiative, Shareholders for Change, Global Alliance for Banking on Values, and Etica Funds. The “Grave New World” event considered the increasing risks of automation and AI in military applications and explored how responsible investors can uphold their ethical, legal, and fiduciary duties amid global insecurity and fast-paced technological development. This conversation was part of the larger ICCR conference which brought together faith and values-based investors who seek to ensure that their financial decisions have a positive influence on society.
Stop Killer Robots is encouraged by the response the investor community has shown toward the statement thus far. The campaign will continue to leverage its coalition of 270 civil society organisations, working in over 70 countries, to build support for this initiative. As the gap grows between the development and regulation of AI and automation in military applications, it is crucial that new legal safeguards are established to protect against digital dehumanisation and automated harm. The investor community has a key role to play in ensuring that AI and other emerging technologies are developed to serve and protect humanity.
In the video below, Aldo Bonati from our Etica Funds, our partner on the statement, explains why it is important that investors sign on and show their support for autonomous weapons regulation on autonomous weapons take a stand against autonomous weapons
