Appeals Court Asked to Outlaw ‘Computer’ War

A federal appeals court was asked Wednesday to outlaw “computer-declared war” by an expert who argued that a nuclear “launch-on-warning” policy would surrender the congressional power to declare war to machines.

Stanford University computer expert Clifford Johnson, a British citizen, has challenged the constitutionality of developing a “launch-on-warning” computer system that would respond automatically to foreign attack signals.

The unusual hearing in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals focused legally on the narrower question of whether courts can decide such issues, but the argument often spilled over into issues of nuclear policy.