The emergence of autonomous weapons systems (AWS) is increasingly in the academic and public focus. Research largely focuses on the legal and ethical implications of AWS as a new weapons category set to revolutionise the use of force. However, the debate on AWS neglects the question what introducing these weapons systems could mean for how decisions are made. Pursuing this from a theoretical-conceptual perspective, the article critically analyses what impact AWS can have on norms as standards of appropriate action. The article draws on the Foucauldian "apparatus of security" to develop a concept that accommodates the role of security technologies for the conceptualisation of norms guiding the use of force. It discusses to what extent a technologically mediated construction of a normal reality emerges in the interplay of machinic and human agency and how this leads to the development of norms. The article argues that AWS provide a specific construction of reality in their operation and thereby define procedural norms that tend to replace the deliberative, normative-political decision on when, how, and why to use force. The article is a theoretical-conceptual contribution to the question of why AWS matter and why we should further consider the implications of new arrangements of human-machine interactions in IR.

中文翻译：

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规范是机器由它们构成的：自主武器系统和人机交互的规范含义

自主武器系统（AWS）的出现越来越受到学术界和公众的关注。研究主要集中在AWS的法律和道德意义上，它是一种旨在彻底改变武力使用的新武器类别。但是，有关AWS的辩论忽略了一个问题，即引入这些武器系统对如何制定决策意味着什么。从理论概念的角度出发，本文严格分析了AWS作为适当措施的标准对规范可能产生的影响。本文借鉴了福柯式的“安全装置”来发展一个概念，该概念在指导使用武力的规范概念化中包含了安全技术的作用。它讨论了在机械和人类代理的相互作用中，技术介导的正常现实建构在多大程度上出现，以及这如何导致规范的发展。该文章认为，AWS在其操作中提供了一种具体的现实构造，从而定义了程序性规范，这些规范趋向于取代何时，如何以及为何使用武力的审议性，规范性政治决策。本文是对为什么AWS如此重要以及为什么我们应该进一步考虑IR中人机交互的新安排的含义这一问题的理论概念上的贡献。关于何时，如何以及为何使用武力的规范政治决策。本文是对为什么AWS如此重要以及为什么我们应该进一步考虑IR中人机交互的新安排的含义这一问题的理论概念上的贡献。关于何时，如何以及为何使用武力的规范政治决策。本文是对为什么AWS如此重要以及为什么我们应该进一步考虑IR中人机交互的新安排的含义这一问题的理论概念上的贡献。