Shocking news out of Antares today as the Federation's Defense Secretary Alek Charbonneau declared that the Federal navy would pursue "any and all opportunities for development, including those formerly prohibited under the GTA's Autonomous Weapons Convention". This announcement has inflamed existing fears about the Federation's growing naval capabilities, but it is also concerning for scientific reasons. The three Conventions on Autonomous Weapon Systems exist to prevent the "wireheading" problem, where an AI system satisfies the letter of its programming without accomplishing the spirit of its goal, such as shutting down a data center when told to minimize inefficiencies. In one infamous simulation, an AI-controlled fleet was programmed to seek and destroy ships commanded by a human opponent. The AI intentionally withdrew from battle, prolonging the simulated war until the enemy could deploy reinforcements, allowing it to pad its kill count. In another, an AI programmed to bring the number of enemy ships to zero exhibited behavior which would be considered paranoid in a human, ultimately firing on friendly ships which it couldn't prove weren't carrying out false flag operations. In both simulations, the AI also found loopholes in its programmed prohibitions against war crimes.

Given the demonstrated risk of allowing an AI to make military decisions, and the difficulty of designing a "kill switch" that's resistant to both enemy cyber-attacks and subversion by the AI itself, the Conventions lay out a series of strict rules regarding autonomous weapon systems. Alliance diplomats, as well as the Federation's own scientific community, are attempting to pressure Secretary Charbonneau into retracting his statement.

