SGI Buddhists call for early regulation of Autonomous Weapons Systems

On July 23, 2026, the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) issued a statement titled “Autonomous Weapons Systems: Ensuring Human Control Based on Respect for the Dignity of Life.” See full text in Japanese .

With ongoing conflicts serving as a catalyst for the rapid development and deployment of weapons incorporating emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), the SGI welcomes steps in the international community toward regulation of Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS). The SGI statement calls for comprehensive prohibition of systems designed to select and engage human targets.

It asserts: “If attacks involving civilians were to become semi-automated in conflicts through the unchecked use of AWS, the restraining force of human conscience—which has long served as a foundation supporting international law—would be entirely lost.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has also proposed that the regulatory instrument under discussion by the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) convened under the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) include a provision prohibiting antipersonnel AWS. The Stop Killer Robots coalition, in which the SGI has…