Under what conditions is it okay to use AI for military purposes?

There has recently been a lot of press about Google’s involvement in the US Department of Defense’s Project Maven, where they helped the military develop computer-vision analyses to detect simple objects like people and cars using Google’s TensorFlow technology. Even though the project was allegedly “non-offensive”, many Google employees protested against their employer’s involvement in “the business of war”. This has now resulted in Google not renewing the contract and releasing a set of principles/guidelines for AI at Google.

Even before this, researchers have petitioned their colleagues to avoid working with the military. And many professionals have signed open letters from the Future of Life Institute decrying the development of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS). A movement is underway to convince the countries of the world and the UN to implement a ban on LAWS, similar to bans on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons as well as various types of landmines, lasers and bullets.

On the other hand, many great projects have been funded by money from the military. The internet itself is a prime example. Furthermore, it has been argued that bans can not only be ineffective, but that they are also undesirable. That your country may not be perfect, but they are sure a lot better than other world-powers, and that we cannot afford to let them gain the upper hand in this arms race. There is even some hope that machines could eventually be more ethical and precise than human soldiers.

What do you think? Under what conditions is it okay for the military to use AI? Is it important that there is still meaningful human control or appropriate human judgment, or will that only get in the way? Will the development of LAWS usher in the end of times, or perhaps the end of the worst atrocities of war? Should LAWS be banned? And what about “non-offensive” technology that is e.g. used to make sense of intelligence data (upon which the military will of course act as they see fit)?