TRAILBLAZER
The military started acting on his evidence-based recommendations and civilian casualties decreased as a result .
“ Following this , the state department called as they wanted my expertise on civilian casualties to inform US policy . To do this , I joined the State Department as a senior advisor for civilian harm . I drafted an executive order on civilian casualties that President Obama signed , making national commitments to better protect civilians ,” explained Lewis . Lewis was also part of the US delegation to the UN on talks about autonomous weapons , intended to increase understanding of autonomous technology and address concerns around the technology in war . While the primary focus has been on understanding and mitigating risks , in his most recent work Lewis highlights the opportunities for technology to better protect civilians and gives specific examples that militaries can start with for using AI to spare civilians in war .
Lewis did highlight the wins he has had in his career : “ There have been some victories , such as helping to contribute to reduced civilian casualties in the field , the Executive Order on civilian casualties , and the US AI strategy that was published in 2018 . Within it , it says the US will use AI to help reduce civilian casualties . That ’ s a sign of greater awareness that we can better protect civilians with technology .”
He added : “ There ' s really no one else that ' s done this work of analysing civilian casualties . I don ' t understand it , honestly . But , my work shows that there are practical ways to better protect civilians from harm . We can do better .”
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