Artificially intelligent drones that can kill on their own will increasingly pose a challenge to Australia's values as they potentially give a military edge to foreign enemies who have no ethical qualms about using them, the Chief of the Australian Army has warned.

Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell told Fairfax Media there would be countries and groups such as terrorist organisations that would have lower ethical standards than Australia about using such robots. Australia's military and its broader society would have to think about how it deals with these adversaries, he said.

Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell. Credit:Wolter Peeters

"There are countries that do not have, let's say, the ethical foundations upon which we seek to build and employ our military capability," General Campbell said. "Technology in and of itself can allow a range of systems, without a human in the loop, to be developed. That is possible now and it is possible into the future in more sophisticated ways.

"We ... will always be asking the question, 'What is the right ethical construct, and ultimately behaviour and actions?' Others will not … That is absolutely a threat to any nation-state that believes in the laws of war and in ethical conduct."