Draft:Paddy Walker (author)
British joint managing director and researcher on autonomous weapons
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Paddy Walker is a British businessman, academic and author whose work focuses on the ethical, legal and technical challenges raised by autonomous weapon systems and the role of human oversight in lethal decision-making.[1][2][3]
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Dr Paddy Walker PhD, KRB | |
|---|---|
| Education | Durham University; Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; Cornell University (MBA); University of Buckingham (MA, PhD) |
| Occupations | Businessman; researcher; author |
| Known for | Work on autonomous weapon systems and human control in warfare |
| Title | Joint Managing Director, Leon Group |
He is the author of War Without Oversight: Why We Need Humans on the Battlefield (2025) and co-authored War's Changed Landscape?: A Primer on Conflict's Forms and Norms (2023).[4][5]
Education and career
Walker studied at Durham University.[2][3] , after which he was commissioned into the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[6][7][2][3] He later completed an MBA at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.[2][3]
Walker is Joint Managing Director of the Leon Group, a multi-generation family office.[8][2][3] He was previously chair of the Institute for Family Business Family Office Forum.[2][9]
He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers, the King's bodyguard in Scotland.[9][10]
Drones and autonomous weapon systems
Walker has a master's degree from the University of Buckingham’s School of Modern War Studies and a PhD from the University of Buckingham’s School of Humanities, with doctoral research focused on drones and challenges to their deployment in combat situations.[2][3] His research and commentary focus on autonomous weapon systems (AWS) and the implications of reducing or removing human oversight from lethal decision-making, including questions of accountability and compliance with the laws of armed conflict.[1][4][3] His book War Without Oversight: Why We Need Humans on the Battlefield addresses these themes, and he co-authored War's Changed Landscape?: A Primer on Conflict's Forms and Norms with Peter Roberts.[4][5][6]
He is an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).[9] He has also been listed as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham’s Humanities Research Institute.[2][9] Walker is a board member of the UK charity Article 36.[11] He is an Associate of the Imperial War Museum’s Institute for the Public Understanding of War and Conflict.[12]
In June 2023, Walker gave oral evidence to the House of Lords Artificial Intelligence in Weapons Systems Committee during its inquiry into AI in weapon systems.[13]
Charities and public service
Walker served on the London Committee of Human Rights Watch.[9]
The Leon Group manages its charitable giving through a Philanthropy Council, with stated focus areas including support for vulnerable and marginalised people, opportunities for disadvantaged young people, human rights advocacy, and social integration in Britain.[14]
CampdenFB has reported that the group's interests include funding in areas such as human rights advocacy and countering hate speech, and it referenced support for organisations including HOPE not hate and the Prison Reform Trust.[8] The Leon Group has listed recipients of support of a number of cross-sector charitable foundations including Canopy Earth, Airwars, the National Theatre.[14][15]
Walker has also been listed as an advisor to FJ Philanthropy.[16]
Selected works
- Walker, Paddy. War Without Oversight: Why We Need Humans on the Battlefield. Howgate Publishing, 2025.[4][6]
- Walker, Paddy; Roberts, Peter. War's Changed Landscape?: A Primer on Conflict's Forms and Norms. Howgate Publishing, 2023.[5]
- Walker, Paddy. "Leadership Challenges from the Deployment of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: How Erosion of Human Supervision Over Lethal Engagement Will Impact How Commanders Exercise Leadership." The RUSI Journal (2021).[17]
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