Trusted Autonomous Systems produces resources on developing trusted autonomy. These resources include reports, frameworks and guidelines, academic publications, and educational videos. Many of our industry-facing resources are also published on the Queensland Government-supported Robotics and Autonomous Systems Gateway.
Frameworks, guidelines, and the RAS-Gateway
Robotics and Autonomous Systems Gateway (2022)
Australian Code of Practice for Autonomous and Remotely Operated Vessels Edition 2
Guidance Materials for Australian Code of Practice Edition 2 (Nov 23)
Detect and Avoid, Design Test & Evaluation Guideline (2024), Appendices and further detail available on DAA pages of the RAS Gateway
Ethics and law for robotics, autonomous systems and AI
Publications – TAS Contributors
(Some may require purchase or subscription)
2023
Assaad, Z & Boshuijzen-van Burken, C (2023), Ethics and Safety of Human-Machine Teaming, TAS ’23: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems, July 2023 Article No: 17, Pages 1–8
Bijjahalli, S, Pizarro, O, and Williams S.B (2003), A Semi-supervised Object Detection Algorithm for Underwater Imagery, ArXiv (intended for IEEE)
Boshuijzen-van Burken, C (2023), Value Sensitive Design for autonomous weapon systems – a primer. Ethics Information Technology 25, 11 (2023).
Boshuijzen-van Burken, C, Spruit, S, Fillerup, Land Mouter, N (2023), Value Sensitive Design Meets Participatory Value Evaluation for Autonomous Systems in Defence, EasyChair Preprint 9891
Devitt, K (2023), Meaningful Human Command: Advance Control Directives as a method to enable moral and legal responsibility for autonomous weapons systems, ArXiv
Devitt, S. K., Scholz, J., Schless, T., & Lewis, L. (2022). Developing a Trusted Human-AI Network for Humanitarian Benefit. The Journal of Digital War, Special Issue ’My War’.
Huang, Z, Pemasiri, A, Denman, S, Fookes, C & Martin, T (2023), Multi-task learning for radar signal characterisation, ArXiv
McFarland, T and Assaad, Z (2023). Legal reviews of in situ learning in autonomous weapons. Ethics and Information Technology 25 (1) 9
McKenzie, S & Massingham, E (2023), AUKUS: The Regulation of the Ocean and the Legal Dangers of Working Together, Ocean Yearbook Online, Volume 37: Issue 1
Walker-Munro, B & Assaad, Z (2023), The Guilty (Silicon) Mind: Blameworthiness and Liability in Human-Machine Teaming, 8 Cambridge Law. Vol 8, Issue 1
Walker-Munro, B (2023), Autonomous systems, superior orders and manifest unlawfulness: is there a duty to disobey?, Military Law & Law of War Review, 61(1) 59–85
2022
Assaad, Z (2022) ‘A Proposed Risk Categorisation Model for Human-Machine Teaming‘, EICS ’22: Engineering Interactive Computing Systems conference, June 21–24, 2022, Sophia Antipolis, France
Austrade Australian Defence Industry Report and RASAI Matrix
Cardier, B & Hancock, M (2022), Visualizing Cumulative Risk Across Work Contexts, 2022 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE)
Copeland, D, Liivoja, R, and Sanders, L(2022). The utility of weapons reviews in addressing concerns raised by autonomous weapon systems. Journal of Conflict and Security Law
Liivoja, R, Massingham, E & McKenzie, S (2022), The legal requirement for command and the future of autonomous military platforms, 99 International Law Studies 638–675
Massingham, E & Stephens, D (2022), Autonomous systems, private actors, outer space and war: lessons for addressing accountability concerns in uncertain legal environments, Melbourne Journal of International Law 276-305, 23(2)
Massingham, E and McKenzie, S (2022). Testing knowledge: weapons reviews of autonomous weapons systems and the international criminal trial. Futures of international criminal justice. Ed by Emma Palmer, E, Harris Rimmer, S, Bikundo, E and Clark, M. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.177–197
McFarland, T (2022) Reconciling trust and control in the military use of artificial intelligence, International Journal of Law and Information Technology, Volume 30, Issue 4, Winter 2022, Pages 472–483
McFarland, Tim(2022). Minimum levels of human intervention in autonomous attacks. Journal of Conflict & Security Law 27 (3) krac021 387-409.
McKenzie, S (2022). The challenge of automated and autonomous technologies to Australian Defence Force compliance with workplace health and safety laws. Australian Journal of Defence and Strategic Studies 4(1), 23-38.
Roberson, T, Bornstein, S, Liivoja, R, Ng, S, Scholz, J, Devitt, K (2022) A method for ethical AI in defence: A case study on developing trustworthy autonomous systems, Journal of Responsible Technology, Volume 11, 2022, 100036, ISSN 2666-6596
Scholz, J interviewed in ‘The Eco-System for Next-Gen Autonomous Systems’: Laird, R.F, ed (2022). Defence XXI: Shaping a Way Ahead for the Unites States and its Allies
Selvaratnam, D, Cantoni, M, Davoren, J.M. Shames, I, (2022) MITL Verification Under Timing Uncertainty in ‘Logic in Computer Science’
Walker-Munro, B (2022), ‘Exploring manufacturer strict liability as regulation for autonomous military systems. Who is liable when an autonomous military drone causes unintended harms?’ in Torts Law Journal, Vol 27, Part 3 (available on subscription Lexis Nexis).
Walker-Munro, B (2022), ‘Do Androids Dream of a Duty of Care: Arguing for Civil Liability for Autonomous Military Systems in Australia’ in ‘University of Western Australia Law Review’ Vol 49(2):239
Various (TAS contributors, Chapter 9 Defence), Robotics Australia Group, A Robotics Roadmap for Australia 2022
2021
Back, Andrew D., and Janet Wiles (2021). “Entropy Estimation Using a Linguistic Zipf–Mandelbrot–Li Model for Natural Sequences” Entropy 23, no. 9: 1100
Devitt, S. K (2021) ‘Does Australia’s commitment to Ethical AI give our adversaries the edge?’ W.A. Defence Review 2020-21 Annual Publication, pps 216-217.
Devitt, S. K. (2021). Normative epistemology for lethal autonomous weapons systems. In J. Galliott, D. MacIntosh, & J. D. Ohlin (Eds.), Lethal Autonomous Weapons: Re-Examining the Law and Ethics of Robotic Warfare. Oxford University Press.
Galliott, J., MacIntosh, D. & Jens, D.O. (eds.) (2021). Lethal Autonomous Weapons: Re-Examining the Law & Ethics of Robotic Warfare. Oxford University Press.
Horne, R. (2021). Autonomous and remotely operated vessels 2021 to 2040. MIAL Future Leaders White Paper. Predictions for the Australian Maritime Industry 2040. Maritime Industry Australia Limited. pp.12-27
Liivoja, R., Väljataga, A. (eds.) (2021), ‘Autonomous Cyber Capabilities under International Law’ NATO CCDCOE Publications.
McKenzie, S. (2021). Autonomous Technology and Dynamic Obligations: Uncrewed Maritime Vehicles and the Regulation of Maritime Military Surveillance in the Exclusive Economic Zone. Asian Journal of International Law.
Massingham, E. (2021). Automation of the Spectrum, Automation and the Spectrum: Legal Challenges When Optimising Spectrum Use for Military Operations. Law, Technology and Humans, 3(1).
Massingham, E (2021), ‘Navigating to autonomy: legal questions in the use of autonomous aerial vehicles by the Australian military’, Australian Journal of Defence and Strategic Studies, AJDSS Volume 3 Number 1 (2021).
Massingham, E (2021), An AI-flown military aircraft is being designed in Australia. Are our laws equipped to protect us?, The Conversation, (Subsequently reposted on ABC News)
Scholz, J.B. (2021) ‘Disruptive AI for Defence’, Invited Keynote speech, IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (SSCI), Orlando Florida and online, presented on 6 Dec.
Selvaratnam, D, Cantoni, M, Davoren, J,M, Shames, I (2021), ‘Sampling Polynomial Trajectories for LTL Verification’, Theoretical Computer Science, [Arvix prepublication]
2020
KaiLiao, Chwen, Manzie, Chris, Chapman, Airlie, (2020), A distributed algorithm for UAV-based communication networks using constrained extremum seeking, IFAC Papers Online.
Korte, Jessica, Bender, Axel, Gallasch, Guy, Wiles, Janet, and Back, Andrew (2020). A plan for developing an Auslan communication technologies pipeline. ECCV 2020: Computer Vision – ECCV 2020 Workshops, Glasgow, Scotland, 23–28 August 2020. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
Liivoja, R., Massingham, E., MacFarlane, T., and McKenzie, S., (2020). Are autonomous weapons systems prohibited? TAS Game-Changer Blog and UQ Law School.
McFarland, T. (2020). Is an Autonomous Weapon System Just a Machine? Fifteeneightyfour, the blog of Cambridge University Press, Law & Government.
McKenzie, S. (2020). When is a Ship a Ship? Use by State Armed Forces of Un-crewed Maritime Vehicles and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Forthcoming Melbourne Journal of International Law
Massingham, E. (2020). Navigating to autonomy: legal questions in the use of autonomous aerial vehicles by the Australian military. ANZSIL International Peace and Security Interest Group Seminar Series 2020, Online, 24 July 2020.
Massingham, E. (2020). Radio Silence: Autonomous Military Aircraft and the Importance of Communication for their Use in Peace Time and in Times of Armed Conflict under International Law, University of Queensland Law School (This paper appeared in (2020) 1(1) Asia-Pacific Journal of International Humanitarian Law 184–208)
Massingham, E., McKenzie, S., and Liivoja, R. (2020). AI and Machine Learning Symposium: Command in the Age of Autonomy–Unanswered Questions for Military Operations, OpinioJuris
Scholz, J.B. and Galliott, J. (2020). The Case for Ethical AI in the Military. Oxford Handbook of the Ethics of AI, Cases and Applications: Military. Chapter 36.
Scholz, J.B, Lambert, D.A, Bolia, R.S, and Galliott, J. (2020). Ethical Weapons: A Case for AI in Weapons. In Moral Responsibility in Twenty-First-Century Warfare. SUNY Series in Just War Theory and the Ethical Challenges of Autonomous Weapons Systems, Steven C. Roach and Amy E. Eckert Editors, SUNY Press. September.
UQ and the Future of War resources including articles, books, blog posts and podcast available at: https://law.uq.edu.au/research/future-war
2019
Perez, T. (2019) What will it take to trust autonomous systems? Australian Defence Magazine, October 2019
Scholz, J.B. and Galliott, J. (2019), Artificial Intelligence in Weapons: The Moral Imperative for Minimally-Just Autonomy, US Air Force Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 57 – 67.
External resources
Action Plan for AI in Australia (Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources)
AIMS Reef Works Maritime Test Range
Army Robotic & Autonomous Systems Strategy
Defence Cooperative Research Centres Program Fact Sheet
Defence Science & Technology & Army – Semi-Autonomous Combat Team Dismounted Infantry 2030 Concept
Royal Australian Navy RAS-AI Strategy 2040
Australian Army Research Centre
Delivering Disruptive Innovation through Proximity and Partnerships
Looking to 2040: The Swarm Advantage
Mission Command and Artificial Intelligence: Obstacles to Integration
Robotics and Autonomous Systems Experimentation (RICO Update)
Robotics and Autonomous Systems Implementation & Coordination Office