The Dual-use of Drones

Abstract

Drones and drone-related technologies were initially developed for military purposes. Their adaptability as universal platforms for sensing and payload transportation has driven their increasing proliferation in the civilian domain. This paper investigates the ethical aspects of dual-use of drones and drone-related technologies. These aspects encompass issues generated by the transfer of drones and drone-related technologies from the military domain into the civil domain, and issues stemming from the inherent nature of drones and drone-related technologies. Key themes, such as safety, security, and privacy will be explored, along with existing and potential solutions proposed for addressing ethical issues related to the dual-use of drones and drone-related technologies within the civil domain. This paper forms part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) project 'Responsible Design of Drones and Drone Services: Towards an Ethical and Juridical Tool For Drone Design and Risk Assessment' (Project no. 313-99-318), which aims to develop a tool for use in Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI) for the Value Sensitive Design and implementation of drones and drone technologies. Understanding the ethical challenges and proposed solutions regarding dual-use should better inform the RRI, VSD and implementation of drones and drone technologies. * De eerste auteur van dit artikel is Engelstalig. De redactie heeft gemeend dat het onderwerp goed past in het aangeboden palet van dit themanummer en om die reden geaccepteerd dat het in het Engels is aangeboden. Een Nederlandstalige samenvatting vindt u op pagina 96.

An Ethical Framework for the Design, Development, Implementation, and Assessment of Drones Used in Public Healthcare

“…What about healthcare drones’ impact on vulnerable groups? “Aerial robots are ideal platforms for ‘individuals and groups seeking to impose their own morality on others’ (Novitzky et al 2018 )” (Clarke 2014b ). This means that a range of actors with a range of objectives could use drones to facilitate their aims, including ‘legitimate’ actors such as some governments, or other powerful actors, such as private companies and technology developers.…”

Capability caution in UAV design

“…The term 'dual-use' is used to describe a (drone) technology that could be used both in a military and a civil context. However, it should be noted that it can be difficult to draw a strict line between military and civil uses, such as drones for border security [27] or police work [14], which require many of the same (but not identical) capabilities as those for military reconnaissance [28]. In addition, the boundary between the domains is quite permeable, with military and civil drones benefiting from developments within the other field.…”

“…Dual-use is sometimes defined in terms of a technology or research that can be used both for good and bad purposes; this general problem is referred to as the dual-use dilemma [30]. Reference [28] sites four ethical principles that can be applied to the dual-use dilemma. One is that of collective responsibility: 'the responsibility for the research, technology, or artefacts cannot be carried by the individual scientist alone, relying exclusively on one's self-governance.…”

“…One is that of collective responsibility: 'the responsibility for the research, technology, or artefacts cannot be carried by the individual scientist alone, relying exclusively on one's self-governance. The responsibility is a collective effort on multiple levels, and it is a joint enterprise of universities, professional associations, governments, and funders' [28]. However, the shared nature of responsibility does not preclude the drone engineer from actively trying to reduce the risks of dual-use while creating technology, and the implementation of capability caution can aid in this endeavour.…”