Responsible military innovation, by design.
The Responsible by Design Institute is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the responsible design, development and governance of emerging military technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced and autonomous weapon systems.
Our mission is to strengthen compliance with international law, embed ethical and responsibility considerations into defence innovation, and support States, industry, academia, and civil society in addressing the legal and governance challenges posed by rapidly evolving military capabilities.
We pursue this mission through independent advisory functions, capacity-building programmes, research initiatives, and international dialogue—ensuring that responsibility is treated not as an afterthought, but as a foundational design requirement.
Our Projects
Independent Advisory Board on Article 36 Legal Reviews
Launching in 2026, the Independent Advisory Board on Article 36 Legal Reviews is a multi-disciplinary body established to strengthen the transparency, consistency, and technical robustness of national legal review processes for new weapons, including autonomous and AI-enabled systems, drawing on expertise in law, ethics, technology, military operations, international relations, and human factors.
RBD Rating System for Military AI
The RBD Rating provides states, investors, industry and the public with a clear benchmark for what “responsible” military AI means in practice, providing transparency, building trust, and motivating responsible innovation.
AUKUS Pillar II Forum
Commencing each June 2026 and rotating between partner universities in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, the Forum brings together government, industry, academia, and defence practitioners to shape the responsible design and development of advanced capabilities, including AI, cyber, hypersonic, directed energy, undersea autonomous, and quantum technologies.
Expert Meetings
We bring together experts from governments, academia, civil society and non-government organisations to enable the voluntary exchange of national legal review practice and promote transparency, national capacity and confidence building.
The Forth Expert Meeting on the Legal Review of Autonomous Weapon Systems is being hosted by the Swedish Defence Research Agency in Stockholm from 24-26 March 2026.
30x30 Program
The 30×30 Program is a targeted capacity-building initiative aimed at strengthening national legal review processes for new weapons, means, and methods of warfare. The Program supports States in giving practical effect to their obligations under Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, thereby reinforcing compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) in weapons development, acquisition, and use.
Current practice indicates that only a limited number—approximately 20 States—have established formal, standing national mechanisms for the legal review of weapons. The 30×30 Program seeks to address this gap by supporting at least 30 States to establish or substantially enhance national legal review processes by 2030.
