Building a Better WarBot: Ethical Issues in the Design of Unmanned Systems for Military Applications

Sparrow, Robert

doi:10.1007/s11948-008-9107-0

Cited by 67 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(19 reference statements)

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“…Critics argue that as these systems become increasingly autonomous, the human designers and users of these systems commit an unjustified abdication of moral accountability in life and death decision-making (Altmann 2009;Asaro 2008;Sharkey 2009Sharkey , 2010Sharkey , 2011Sharkey , and 2012and Sparrow 2007and Sparrow , 2009aand Sparrow , 2009band Sparrow , 2011. This has caused some of them to join an effort called Stop Killer Robots, which is a multinational effort to ban autonomous weapons systems from the battlefield (see section 3.1).…”

Section: Major Ethical Positions In the Current Debate Against Lethalmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluation Schema for the Ethical Use of Autonomous Robotic Systems in Security Applications

et al. 2017

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IntroductionInformation technology has become a decisive element in modern warfare, in particular when armed forces of developed countries are involved. Modern weapon systems would not function without sophisticated computing power, but also the planning and executing of military operations in general heavily rely on information technology. In addition, armed forces, but also police, border control and civil protection organizations increasingly rely on robotic systems with growing autonomous capacities. This poses tactical and strategic, but also ethical and legal issues that are of particular relevance when procurement organizations are evaluating such systems for security applications.In order to support the evaluation of such systems from an ethical perspective, this report presents an evaluation schema for the ethical use of autonomous robotic systems in security applications, which also considers legal aspects to some degree. The focus is on two types of applications: First, systems whose purpose is not to destroy objects or to harm people (e.g. rescue robots, surveillance systems); although weaponization cannot be excluded. Second, systems that deliberately possess the capacity to harm people or destroy objects -both defensive and offensive, lethal and non-lethal systems. The cyber-domain where autonomous systems also are increasingly used (software agents, specific types of cyber weapons etc.) has been excluded from this analysis.The research that has resulted in this report outlines the most important evaluations and scientific publications that are contributing to the international debate on the regulation of autonomous systems in the security context, in particular in the case of so-called lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). The goal of the research is twofold: First, it should support the procurement of security/defense systems, e.g. to avoid reputation risks or costly assessments for systems that are ethically problematic and entail political risks. Second, the research should contribute to the international discussion on the use of autonomous systems in the security context (e.g

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Section: Major Ethical Positions In the Current Debate Against Lethalmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluation Schema for the Ethical Use of Autonomous Robotic Systems in Security Applications

et al. 2017

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“…1a). Is fully autonomous weapon a right application, and if so, what is the scope and method of its design [21], [32], [46]? Will totally autonomous medical robots and diagnostic systems be able to do every task?…”

Section: Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selected Ethical Issues in Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous System Development and Large Data Set Processing

Zgrzebnicki

2017

Studia Humana

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Abstract:Due to information technology development and its industrial adaptation, the dilemmas so far specific to philosophical speculations and science-fiction literature and films have become the real problems of the contemporary world. On one hand, these issues are related to an unprecedented scale on which computational algorithms are currently used as well as a level of complexity of mutual connections; on the other hand, these are linked to their autonomous behavior. States, industry, and users themselves demand formulation of understandable ethical categories and determination of transparency standards and legal norms for these algorithms' functioning in the near future.

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“…Australian philosophers of mind and cognition, however, have not engaged as closely with recent developments as applied ethicists (Sparrow 2009) and cultural theorists (Tofts, Jonson, & Cavallero 2002;Cleland 2010;Wilson 2010). The Australian performance artist and theorist Stelarc, for example, seeks to extend bodily capacities through robotic and other prosthetic technologies (Stelarc 1991;, in conjunction with roboticists at Carnegie Mellon and Sussex, in work discussed extensively by philosophers such as Clark (2003).…”

Section: Dynamics Robotics and Embodied Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science since 1980

Schier¹,

Sutton²

2014

History of Philosophy in Australia and New Zealand

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Building a Better WarBot: Ethical Issues in the Design of Unmanned Systems for Military Applications

Cited by 67 publications

References 15 publications

An Evaluation Schema for the Ethical Use of Autonomous Robotic Systems in Security Applications

An Evaluation Schema for the Ethical Use of Autonomous Robotic Systems in Security Applications

Selected Ethical Issues in Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous System Development and Large Data Set Processing

Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science since 1980

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