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Philos. Technol. (2011) 24:293306
DOI 10.1007/s13347-011-0028-5
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Marcus Schulzke
Received: 28 December 2010 /Accepted: 17 April 2011 /Published online: 28 April 2011 # Springer-Verlag 2011
Abstract This essay analyzes the use of military robots in terms of the jus in bello concepts of discrimination and proportionality. It argues that while robots may make mistakes, they do not suffer from most of the impairments that interfere with human judgment on the battlefield. Although robots are imperfect weapons, they can exercise as much restraint as human soldiers, if not more. Robots can be used in a way that is consistent with just war theory when they are programmed to avoid using force against all but the most clearly hostile targets. However, the essay also cautions against using robots for counterinsurgency because they may alienate people in the contested area and lead to an escalation of hostilities.
Keywords War . Just war theory. Jus in bello . Robot . UAV
Imposing limits on war is a problem that has become urgent with the advent of extremely powerful weapons in the twentieth century. The contemporary basis for limiting war, both legally and morally, is primarily drawn from the First and Second World Wars, as these wars led to the development of powerful, indiscriminate weapons that raised the possibility of unjust killings on a massive scale. Over the past half-century, just war theorists have struggled to theorize new military technologies. With the implements of war continuing on their rapid developmental path, it is essential that scholars continually reconsider the limits placed on the use of new weapons so they can be regulated before they enter widespread service. One of the greatest challenges is regulating the use of robotic weapons to ensure that these are used only in ways that do not violate the rules of just war.
Many of the sophisticated weapons in the arsenal of industrialized militaries might be described as robotic, but here the term is used narrowly to describe autonomous weapons, semiautonomous weapons, and drone weapons that are
M. Schulzke (*)
Department of Political Science, State University of New York at Albany, 16 Stonehenge Ln 17B, Albany, NY 12203, USAe-mail: [email protected]
Robots as Weapons in Just Wars
294 M. Schulzke
controlled remotely. Although supporters and...