Striking Power by Jeremy Rabkin

Author:Jeremy Rabkin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781594038884
Publisher: Encounter Books
Published: 2017-08-17T00:00:00+00:00

Robots and Revolution

Other scholars do not train their criticism on the extensive system of sensors, GPS, and drones currently deployed on the battlefield. Instead, they reserve their fire for the inevitable development of autonomous systems that wage war without direct human decision. As opposed to a weapon system in which automation assists individual human beings conduct warfare, a truly autonomous weapon would acquire targets and make the decision to fire on its own. In 2012, for example, the U.S. Department of Defense defined an autonomous weapons system as one that “once activated, can select and engage targets without further interventions by a human operator.”46

Under this definition, autonomous weapons systems have already arrived. In the U.S. Navy’s Phalanx system, for example, battle computers direct artillery with high rates of fire against attack from multiple missiles.47 The U.S. Patriot and Israel’s Iron Dome systems employ computers and missiles to build a similar shield on the ground.48 The future promises even more advances. A robotic sentry could automatically fire at certain target profiles, especially along disputed borders (such as the Korean DMZ) or around forward bases during armed conflicts. A drone could seek specific target profiles within specific geographic coordinates and then automatically launch its munitions. Other weapons platforms could employ this combination of sensors, high-speed computing, and precision munitions to similar effect on land and sea.

These developments have prompted fears of a Terminator future that justifies a ban on all independent robotic weapons. In 2012, for example, Human Rights Watch and the Harvard International Human Rights Clinic demanded a ban not just on all autonomous weapons, but also their research and development. In their view, such weapons cannot apply the principles of distinction, proportionality, and military necessity. They “would appear to be incapable of abiding by key principles of international humanitarian law.”49 Wendell Wallach, chair of a Yale University committee on technology and ethics, calls on the president of the United States to issue an executive order “declaring that a deliberate attack with legal and nonlethal force by fully autonomous weaponry violates the Law of War.”50 Wallach sets as his goal “terminating the terminator.” Both the U.N. special rapporteur and the former head of the ICRC have called for a temporary moratorium on lethal autonomous weapons until the international community can resolve the attending legal and ethical issues.51

International and domestic officials question whether international law can even govern such weapons. “What if it is technically impossible to reliably program an autonomous weapon system so as to ensure that it functions in accordance with IHL under battlefield conditions?” asks Jakob Kellenberger, former ICRC president.52 It will be difficult enough, these critics argue, to devise programs that can methodically apply general principles to specific battlefield situations. It will be even harder to give them the capacity to learn and to apply their rules to new situations. Even supporters of robotic weapons anticipate difficulties in programming them to use force effectively but with restraint. “Restraints on autonomous weapons to ensure ethical engagements are essential,” writes a DoD official, “but building autonomous weapons that fail safely is the harder task.

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