Killing without heart : limits on robotic warfare in an age of persistent conflict /
Riza, M. Shane.
Today's persistent conflict, conducted among civilian populations and fought by small bands of combatants, will be remembered for this alteration in the tapestry of war and for the first large-scale use of unmanned vehicles. According to the author, this "war among the people" and the trend toward robotic warfare has outpaced deliberate thought and debate about the deep moral issues affecting justice and the warrior spirit. The pace of change, he explains, is revolutionizing warfare in vitally important ways. A key development is risk inversion, a shifting of risk away from technologically superior combatants and onto all noncombatants. For the first time in history, warriors are not the ones primarily shouldering the dangers and horrors of battle. This inversion and the search for impunity undermine the idea that how we win actually matters as much as winning itself. Though warfare involves human fallibility, there are ethics in striving that give meaning to war on a personal level. In just war theory, this sense of purpose imposes a practical limit on what belligerents can and should do to their opponents. Contemporary robotic warfare, however, may remove combatants' moral equivalence and it adversely affects our strategic objectives and the mutual respect upon which to build a lasting peace.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
A fighter pilot's entry into the robotic age -- Now and when -- current and future state of robotics in warfare -- The law is not enough -- The spectra of impunity in warfare -- Impunity and the politics of war -- Impunity and the warrior -- Impunity and the future of war -- AI, the search for relevance, and robotic jus in bello -- Radical responsibilities -- Inevitability, persistence, and heart.
Today's persistent conflict, conducted among civilian populations and fought by small bands of combatants, will be remembered for this alteration in the tapestry of war and for the first large-scale use of unmanned vehicles. According to the author, this "war among the people" and the trend toward robotic warfare has outpaced deliberate thought and debate about the deep moral issues affecting justice and the warrior spirit. The pace of change, he explains, is revolutionizing warfare in vitally important ways. A key development is risk inversion, a shifting of risk away from technologically superior combatants and onto all noncombatants. For the first time in history, warriors are not the ones primarily shouldering the dangers and horrors of battle. This inversion and the search for impunity undermine the idea that how we win actually matters as much as winning itself. Though warfare involves human fallibility, there are ethics in striving that give meaning to war on a personal level. In just war theory, this sense of purpose imposes a practical limit on what belligerents can and should do to their opponents. Contemporary robotic warfare, however, may remove combatants' moral equivalence and it adversely affects our strategic objectives and the mutual respect upon which to build a lasting peace.
Robotics
Robotics
Military robots
Drone aircraft
Impunity.
Military ethics.
War (Philosophy)
Military art and science