The debate is just beginning, and this essay attempts to address the broad ethical issues potentially associated with the development of autonomous weapons, a--... Oct 9, 2022 -- One area of particular concern is weaponization. We believe that adding weapons to robots that are remotely or autonomously operated, widely--... Who is responsible for AI ethics? What is the weaponization of artificial intelligence? Who wrote the article the ethical dilemma of robotics? How do you address ethical issues in AI? Sep 13, 2018 -- In this paper, I examine five AI ethical dilemmas: weapons and military-related applications, law and border enforcement,--...

The rise of human-information systems, cybernetic systems, and increasingly autonomous systems requires the application of epistemic frameworks to machines and human-machine teams. This chapter discusses higher-order design principles to guide the design, evaluation, deployment, and iteration of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) based on epistemic models. Epistemology is the study of knowledge. Epistemic models consider the role of accuracy, likelihoods, beliefs, competencies, capabilities, context, and luck in the justification of actions and the attribution of knowledge. The aim is not to provide ethical justification for or against LAWS, but to illustrate how epistemological frameworks can be used in conjunction with moral apparatus to guide the design and deployment of future systems. The models discussed in this chapter aim to make Article 36 reviews of LAWS systematic, expedient, and evaluable. A Bayesian virtue epistemology is proposed to enable justified actions under uncertainty that meet the requirements of the Laws of Armed Conflict and International Humanitarian Law. Epistemic concepts can provide some of the apparatus to meet explainability and transparency requirements in the development, evaluation, deployment, and review of ethical AI.

Some argue that robots do not have free will and therefore cannot be held morally accountable for their actions. But UW psychologists are finding that people don't have such a clear-cut view of humanoid robots. The researchers' latest results show that humans apply a moderate amount of morality and other human characteristics to robots that are equipped with social capabilities and are capable of harming humans. In this case, the harm was financial, not life-threatening. But it still demonstrated how humans react to robot errors.

This November in Yemen, an unmanned Predator plane -- known as a drone -- blew up a car full of suspected Al Qaeda members. The plane's ''remote pilot'' sat in a trailer located miles out of harm's way. The Pentagon considers unmanned planes like the Predator perfect for ''the 3 D's'': missions that are so dull, dirty or dangerous that it's best to leave humans out of the equation. The Predator is just the start of what may well be the largest shift in military tactics since the invention of gunpowder -- a wholesale removal of American personnel from the front lines. This year at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the biggest advance yet in robotic warfare took its first flight: the UCAV, or Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle.

The US military have launched their first experimental, fully autonomous self-driving warship, dubbed Sea Hunter, and representing a major advance in robotic warfare, which is increasingly forming the core of America's strategy to counter the Chinese and Russians, it's designed to hunt enemy submarines. The 132ft unarmed ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) prototype is the naval equivalent of Google's self-driving car. Designed to cruise on the ocean's surface for two or three months at a time and with a range of over 10,000 miles it has neither a crew nor anyone controlling it remotely. And that kind of endurance and autonomy could make it a highly efficient submarine stalker at a fraction of the cost of the Navy's manned vessels. "This is an inflection point," Deputy US Defense Secretary Robert Work said in an interview, adding he hoped such ships might find a place in the western Pacific in as little as five years.

The autonomous ship sits alongside unmanned drones in a broader strategy to incorporate AI technology into the military. According to Reuters, it is projected to cost 20m to build and then 15,000-20,000 a day to run. This comparatively low cost has the potential to make the ship a highly useful asset for the US navy.

The U.S. unveiled the prototype of an autonomous, experimental warship Thursday that would drastically reduce the cost of operations at sea and mark progress in the move toward robotic warfare. It comes as the military has increasingly aimed to boost unmanned technology to counter Chinese and Russian investments. "This is an inflection point," Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Work told Reuters in an interview. "This is the first time we've ever had a totally robotic, trans-oceanic-capable ship." Work said he hoped unmanned ships would be stationed in the western Pacific within as few as five years.

PORTLAND, OREGON – The U.S. military on Thursday christened an experimental self-driving warship designed to hunt for enemy submarines, a major advance in robotic warfare at the core of America's strategy to counter Chinese and Russian naval investments. The 132-foot-long (40-meter-long) unarmed prototype, dubbed Sea Hunter, is the naval equivalent of Google's self-driving car, designed to cruise on the ocean's surface for two or three months at a time -- without a crew or anyone controlling it remotely. That kind of endurance and autonomy could make it a highly efficient submarine stalker at a fraction of the cost of the Navy's manned vessels. "This is an inflection point," Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Work said in an interview, adding he hoped such ships might find a place in the Western Pacific in as few as five years. "This is the first time we've ever had a totally robotic, trans-oceanic-capable ship."