[LINK] Killer robots and military ethics

Dr Bob Jansen bob.jansen at turtlelane.com.au
Thu Jul 18 13:19:46 AEST 2013


I remember an interesting Azimov SciFi story I read years ago, can't 
remember its name. But the story was about a pocket of humanity living 
underground because killer soldier robots had made the surface unlivable 
as they continued a long war without human intervention (as they were 
programmed to do).

The interesting thing about this story, given the current discussion, 
was that the human armies on both sides were staffed with only 
teenagers, the general of the story being 20 years old, his second in 
command a young woman of 18. This was because all the 'oldies' had 
gotten killed and only the younger ones understood the technology.

Maybe in the current case, this means vacuum robots at ten paces!

bobj


On 18/07/13 12:07 PM, Jim Birch wrote:
> Alan Saunders had a good Philosophers Zone this a while back with PW Singer
> that I'd recommend to anyone interested.  (That's the US academic Peter
> Warren Singer, not the Australian Peter Singer.)
>
> http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/the-morality-of-robo-wars---pw-singer/3701744
>
> While the well known "no skin in the game" problem was discussed, he also
> made an interesting positive point was that a robot might exercise a lot
> more restraint than a human because it is not hormonally concerned about
> it's own safety.
>
> Jim
>
>
>
>
>
> On 18 July 2013 10:12, Roger Clarke <Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au> wrote:
>
>> It'll be interesting to see whether things have moved on during the
>> last 20 years.  I fear not.  See:
>> http://www.rogerclarke.com/SOS/Asimov.html
>>
>> I pondered ethical aspects of the use of drones *by the media* before
>> the Press Council recently:
>> http://www.rogerclarke.com/II/APC-130225.html
>> But the surveillance threat pales a bit in comparison with
>> remote-controlled and even semi-autonomous death-dealing drones.
>>
>> I'm a bit worried about the venue though, which appears to be in Gunnedah.
>>
>>
>> At 8:50 +1000 18/7/13, Tom Worthington wrote:
>>> Professor Christian Enemark will speak on "Killer robots: military
>>> ethics and post-human war" at the Australian National University in
>>> Canberra, 5:30pm 8 August 2013:
>>>
>>> "In April this year the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary
>>> or Arbitrary Executions recommended a moratorium on the development of
>>> lethal autonomous weapon systems (so-called 'killer robots'). In some
>>> countries there is strong technological and military momentum towards
>>> the use of such systems, partly because the physical and mental
>>> frailties of human users of force are increasingly seen as posing
>>> operational risks and impediments.  ... Christian Enemark addresses the
>>> critical issue of whether robotics technology can overcome ethical
>>> shortcomings in the use of force while preserving the moral influence of
>>> human responsibility."
>>>
>>> RSVP:
>>>
>> http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/cap-events/2013-08-08/killer-robots-military-ethics-and-post-human-war
>>>
>>> --
>>> Tom Worthington FACS CP, TomW Communications Pty Ltd. t: 0419496150
>>> The Higher Education Whisperer http://blog.highereducationwhisperer.com/
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>>> _______________________________________________
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>> --
>> Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
>>
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>>
>> Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law               University of NSW
>> Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University
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Dr Bob Jansen
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