September 22, 2016
The Ethics & Morality of Robotic Warfare: Assessing the Debate over Autonomous Weapons
There is growing concern in some quarters that the drones used by the United States and others represent precursors to the further automation of military force through the use of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS). These weapons, though they do not generally exist today, have already been the subject of multiple discussions at the United Nations. Do autonomous weapons raise unique ethical questions for warfare, with implications for just war theory? This essay describes and assesses the ongoing debate, focusing on the ethical implications of whether autonomous weapons can operate effectively, whether human accountability and responsibility for autonomous weapon systems are possible, and whether delegating life and death decisions to machines inherently undermines human dignity. The concept of LAWS is extremely broad and this essay considers LAWS in three categories: munition, platforms, and operational systems.
Read the full report here.
More from CNAS
-
Tariffs and Tech: An Uncertain Recipe
Higher tariffs could prompt American cloud companies to shift more of their capital investments abroad....
By Pablo Chavez
-
Lessons in Learning
Executive Summary Although claims of a revolution in military affairs may be overhyped, the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy to change warfare is growin...
By Josh Wallin
-
Human, Machine, War: How the Mind-Tech Nexus Will Win Future Wars
Air University Press has published Strategic Multilayer Assessment’s (SMA) latest book, Human, Machine, War: How the Mind-Tech Nexus Will Win Future Wars. Forewords by General...
By Samuel Bendett & Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
-
Five Objectives to Guide U.S. AI Diffusion
The Framework for AI Diffusion (the Framework) is an ambitious proposal to shape the global distribution of critical AI capabilities, maintain U.S. AI leadership, and prevent ...
By Janet Egan & Spencer Michaels