Observer: Rise of the Robots and the Future of War

Posted on 11 December 2011 by Frank Sauer

Sunday 21 November 2010, the Observer reports on the technological development in unmanned systems, quoting ICARC’s Noel Sharkey. He …

… says it is impossible for autonomous robots today to distinguish reliably between civilians and combatants, a cornerstone of international humanitarian law. He also believes robots lack the subtle judgment to adhere to another humanitarian law: the principle of proportionality which says civilian causalities must not be “excessive” for the military advantage gained.

“It’s not always appropriate to fire and kill,” Sharkey [explains]. “There are so many examples in the Iraq war where insurgents have been in an alleyway, marines have arrived with guns raised but noticed the insurgents were actually carrying a coffin. So the marines lower their machine guns, take off their helmets and let the insurgents pass. Now, a robot couldn’t make that kind of decision. What features does it look for? Could the box be carrying weapons?”

The full text of the article can be found here.

Categorized | ICRAC in the media

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