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Department of Defense

How Automated Wars Rob Us Of Humanity

Heather Roff | Posted 04.30.2013 | Canada Politics
Read More: Department of Defense, Autonomous Robots, Robots, American Foreign Policy, War, America Drones, Modern Warfare, Drone Strikes, Obama Drone Strikes, Drones, Canada Politics News
Heather Roff

Militaries, and the U.S. military in particular, envisions a future where weapons do the thinking -- that is, planning, target selection and engagement. If we are not careful about the increasing push towards autonomous weapons, we may lose our very humanity in the process.

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When U.S. Weapons are Autonomous, Who is Responsible?

Heather Roff | Posted 11.27.2012 | Canada
Read More: Department of Defense, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Responsibility, Just War, Drones, International Humanitarian Law, Ethics, Canada News
Heather Roff

The U.S. Department of Defense wants to enlarge the U.S. military's reliance on autonomous (i.e. self-directed) weapons in conflict. But a mission is not a person, it is a thing, and things cannot be held morally responsible. It is like saying that you want to hold your car responsible for breaking down on the way to work. You wouldn't say that your car "wronged" you, and you wouldn't seek to punish your car. Such a position on the ethics of autonomous systems reduces any questions of morality or responsibility.

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